There Never Was Any Us
by badwriters
Summary: The story takes off a year after the "There never was any us" scene, as the title suggests. Both Kalinda and Lana have tried to move on from each other, only to find themselves being connected by recent events.
1. Chapter 1

1

It has almost been a year since Kalinda spoke to Lana, and it hasn't been an easy one.

She dated around. There were flings here and there, but nothing really compared to what she shared with Lana. And it was nights like this, when she found herself drinking alone at a bar, that she was reminded of what she gave up by ending whatever it was she had with Lana. She was tempted to call at first. She never really erased her number, after all. But that's the thing, the decision was ultimately hers. She deliberately chose not to contact her. She was about to dial Lana's number, but pressed the cancel button just in time.

There was the masseuse, Sarah, who was interestingly identical, in so many ways, to Lana. It wasn't so much the face, but the shape of it, the way her hair flowed gracefully on her cheek, the way she caressed her hand when they were out drinking or eating, the way her sultry eyes looked at her with lust. She reminded her so much of Lana. To a point that she wasn't sure if she enjoyed her company only because of it. She called her instead.

Two rings and the mysterious masseuse answered. "Hey you."

Kalinda was stunned. For a moment, she thought it was Lana on the other end.

Gathering her emotions, she asked "Hi. Are you busy tonight?"

"Good thing you asked! I was talking to my sister a while ago, and asked if she wanted to hang out. But she's not in the mood. I swear, that woman needs to live a little. But yeah, sure, I'm free."

"Great." Answered Kalinda. "I'll see you in an hour?"

"Sure. Same place?"

"Yeap."

"Okay. See you later." She said with an imaginary wink.

It was tiring sometimes, Kalinda felt. Being interested in other people, that is. Playing the game for information most of the time, and playing for sex for some. Sarah wasn't someone she expects to be serious with. Kalinda knows now that being serious with anyone is almost near to impossible, especially after Lana. And if there was one person she'd be serious with, it would've been her.


	2. Chapter 2

2

_She was waiting for Lana one early evening at the entrance of her apartment building. Lana invited her for dinner that night, it was Friday after all, but she declined, citing a favor she had to do for Alicia. But that was just a little lie she said to give her the chance of surprising her. Why? She didn't really know for sure._

_She recognized Lana's car as she parked it in front of the apartment. She crossed her legs and rested her hands on her lap as she waited for her to get out. Lana got off her car and walked towards her smiling. Kalinda smiled back._

_"Agent Delaney." She said as she stood up to greet her._

_"Ms. Sharma." Lana answered as she went along with the pleasantries. "What brings you to Lake Forest?"_

_"I was in the neighborhood. I thought I'd pay you a visit."_

_Lana started walking towards the building entrance as she said, "But I thought you had a thing with Alicia?". Kalinda took the bottle she had beside her and followed, noticing how hard Lana tried to hide the face that she made at the mention of Alicia's name. It made her smile. She knew she was jealous of Alicia._

_"Change of plans." Kalinda answered with a shrug._

_They climbed two flights of stairs and walked down a long corridor towards Lana's apartment door. She turned to face Kalinda before opening it. "Is that for me?" She was pointing to the bottle of wine she had in her hand._

_"It depends." Kalinda answered. She gave Lana a seductive smile before suddenly pinning her to the wall._

_"Depends on what?" Lana asked with a smile. She didn't even try to fight her._

_"It depends-", she pushed her some more and moved her lips towards her left ear, "-if you're going to let me inside."_

_Lana leaned in to give her a kiss but Kalinda stepped away. She gave her a knowing smile._

_Lana sighed as she reached for her keys in her coat pocket. Once inside, Kalinda walked around the living room and explored the other rooms. Lana watched her as she did this. She slowly placed her things on the coffee table and sat on the couch. She crossed her legs and rested her head on her left hand as she waited for Kalinda to finish inspecting her home. _

_Kalinda turned around and saw Lana. Her shirt collar was inviting her. Lana noticed Kalinda staring so she gave her a smile to lead her on, but Kalinda restrained herself from doing anything else. She placed the bottle of wine on the counter, instead._

_"Do you want to open it?" Lana asked._

_"Probably later." She answered as she sat beside her on the couch._

_"Okay. So, what do you want to do now?". Lana asked with a smile on her face, head resting still on her hand. _

_Kalinda turned to face her and slowly moved to her side. She reached inside Lana's coat and intentionally brushed her hands on her breast. She continued on to her waist, as she moved her face to meet Lana's. "What I want. Is. To take off. Your weapons." Kalinda held Lana's gun in front of her when she finished her sentence. She lingered in front of Lana's lips, waiting for Lana to make a move. _

_Lana just gave her a smile, and Kalinda could read right through her eyes. She was trying hard not to budge. _

_The playing, the longing, Kalinda knew it was becoming too much for Lana. She wanted to make her wait some more, to make her beg to be taken. She was waiting for her to break._

_"Go ahead," was all Lana could muster._

_Kalinda placed the first gun on the table. She then continued by placing her hand on her waist and let it linger there, her fingers drawing breathed in deeply._

_She slowly slid her hand to Lana's back and reached for her second gun, which she seductively showed to Lana before putting it on the table._

_She held her waist again, this time lasting for more than just a few minutes. She playfully tugged Lana's pants as she leaned closer to Lana's face and gave her a passionate kiss. When she felt Lana was into it, she pulled away, together with the handcuffs she took from Lana's back._

_Lana forced a smile. Kalinda's game was working. _

_Kalinda's hands were brushing through her thighs and then started moving between her legs. Unable to control herself any longer, Lana grabbed Kalinda's face and forced her lips onto hers. Kalinda smiled. I win, she thought to herself._

_Kalinda pulled away, just when Lana was about to reach under her clothes. She pulled away with Lana's knife holster. Lana was surprised she was able to get it off quickly._

_"Is there anymore, Agent Delaney?" Kalinda continued seductively._

_"I don't know." Lana answered with a sigh. "Why don't you check?". The game was starting to frustrate her._

_Lana's lips were inviting Kalinda, so was her alluringly open shirt collar and beautiful neckline. Kalinda leaned in for a small kiss, which turned to another deep and passionate one. She couldn't help but bite Lana's lower lip. Lana smiled when she did this. They pulled each other closer as they kissed some more. Legs intertwined, lips locked in and tongues almost reaching each other's throats._

_Kalinda took off Lana's coat. Lana began to unzip Kalinda's jacket. She was about to reach inside her thighs when Kalinda stopped her._

_"What?" Lana asked._

_"I have another surprise for you." Kalinda answered with a smile._

_"Another surprise? There was a first one?"_

_Kalinda stared at her with a straight face. "The bottle of wine."_

_Lana smiled. "Of course."_

_Kalinda took something from her jacket's pocket. It was a pair of beautifully wrapped handcuffs, something she purchased in a speciality store on the way to Lake Forest earlier._

_"We could've just used mine, you know?" Lana said with a mischievous smile._

_Kalinda looked at the cuffs she was holding, "But this one's prettier."_

_"It's pink." An annoyed Lana said._

_"And it has fur. It'll be more comfortable for your wrists." Kalinda answered simply. _

_"MY wrists?"_

_By then, Kalinda had thrown herself into Lana's arms and lips. They kissed like there was no tomorrow. It was amazing how Kalinda had led Lana to her bedroom. Their lips and hands were too busy exploring each other. Kalinda threw Lana on the bed and gave her a satisfied smile._

_It took some time before Kalinda had found a place to cuff Lana to. There were no visible steel bars, but there were some underneath the bed. It was going to be uncomfortable, Kalinda thought. She shrugged it off. When she finished cuffing Lana to the side of the bed, arms outstreched above her head, she knew Lana would try to get back at her for putting her in this uncomfortable position. But if she knew how turned on she was, seeing her all vulnerable, she might just change her mind. _

_"Are you sure about this, Kalinda?" You could see Lana was feeling uncomfortable. Kalinda sat on Lana's stomach as she watched her. She gave her a smile and slowly bent towards her ear and whispered, "Just leave everything to me."_

_And then she kissed the outer lobe of her ear and began sucking gently. Lana moaned a bit, and moaned some more when Kalinda began thrusting her tongue inside her ear. _

_Kalinda was straddling her, her hands were cuffed, Lana was locked in position. It was the beginning of a long, long, long night._

_Lana was woken up by Kalinda's arms wrapped around her. She turned around and there she was, sleeping beside her on her bed. It was one of the few times Kalinda had stayed the night._

_After breakfast, Kalinda told Lana she had somewhere to be._

_"On a Saturday morning?" Lana had asked._

_Kalinda nodded._

_Lana walked her out of her apartment building. As Kalinda was about to board her car, she turned to Lana, who was still in her robe, and gently said, "I want to try."_

_Lana was confused, "Try what?"_

_"Try having an actual relationship." Kalinda answered. _

_Lana was surprised. She didn't know what to say._

_Kalinda just smiled at her as she started her car's engine. _

_"With whom?" Lana wanted to make sure._

_Kalinda stared at the road ahead before answering. As she shifted to drive, she turned to Lana and said, "With you."_

_And then she drove away._

That was when.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Lana has been very busy at work. A year ago, her superiors at the FBI gave her simultaneous cases. She couldn't believe it at first, having to handle multi-disciplinary projects. You were usually placed in a specific field. For some reason, they kept giving her ones ranging from petty criminal activities to over-the-top corruption problems. She didn't mind of course, it only made her reputation stronger.

And since she was able to show that she could handle them, she's now given more special cases, cases that require her to work 72 hours straight. This was alright with her, better than going after crappy and shitty drug dealers. This was making her busy, busy enough to not think about things, things that hurt.

It's been a year since Kalinda had spoken to her, but the emotions she felt that day were still there. Sure, she's tried to move on, b ut there were days (and nights) when the memory would come back, and she'd struggle to keep it out of her mind. This was one of them.


	4. Chapter 4

4

_She felt something off when she saw Kalinda trying hard not to look like she was waiting for her that afternoon. And only after Kalinda said, "There never was any us.", had she realized that her gut-feeling materialized. _

_She was staying at her sister's at that time because of the thrashing of her place and immediately, her know-it-all sister noticed her problematic face. _

_"A girl broke your heart?" Her sister had asked her as she entered the apartment. Lana was never one to talk about personal feelings to anyone, but her sisters were her keepers. The eldest was in LA, so she had to make do with the one with her in Chicago. But she was feeling really shitty-down that day, she wasn't in the mood for small talk. She wanted to be happy, sure, Lemond Bishop was going to jail. But in the ironic twist of things, Kalinda suddenly tells her that "there never was any us". _

_Fuck that there-never-was-any-us shit, she thought as she was driving home to her sister's earlier that night. What does she mean there never was any us? There was an us from the very beginning. Her thoughts continued as she sat in her SUV amidst the Chicago rush hour traffic. She calls me more often than not. She's the one who suddenly shows up, not me. The frustration was getting to her, almost hitting a cutting bicycle after the lights turned green. _

_Just when she thought her relationship with Kalinda was getting somewhere, this is what happens. Another stop light, and she just sits there. Her phone was on the passenger seat, she was tempted to call her. This is usually how it is when it comes to Kalinda, she just couldn't stop herself. She dialed her number, let it ring for three times, then decided to wait for the fourth one. She might answer the next one, she thought. Then a fifth. And a sixth. She closed her eyes in frustration. A seventh ring. Beeeeep! A loud honk. _

_Startled, she cancelled her call and drove as the traffic started moving again. She was spaced out for the rest of her drive home. She stayed outside her sister's apartment door for a good ten minutes. She just stood there, dropped her bag on the floor and leaned on the wall opposite the door and stared at it. _

_"Hey, I asked you a question." Her sister continued. Lana's mind was drawn back to reality. _

_"I peeked outside earlier, I saw you there just standing." She was searching Lana's eyes as she spoke. "I know the look that you have when you're tired. And I know the look that you have when you're hurt. You're hurt. What's wrong?"_

_Her sister knew her well. Both her sisters do, actually. They all grew up close, closer after their mom died. All they had was each other, their dad was too busy traveling from Chicago, New York and Washington._

_Lana just stood there. _

_Her sister stared at her, and upon realizing that she wasn't going to move any closer, she put down the plates she was holding and moved closer to Lana instead. Without uttering another word, she just embraced her. And with this, Lana broke. _

_She was never the type who cried a lot. When she does, it must really be something hurtful. Both her sisters know that. _

_Lana had to stay at her sister's for a good two months. Rachel, her older sister, found out about her ransacked apartment and forbade her from going back, saying that it was for her own safety. She was hesitant to look for a new apartment at first. It was Lake Forest, it was perfect. Someone had asked her once how she could afford to live there. What they didn't know was that she and her sisters have been receiving a monthly stipend from the family business ever since they turned 18. What's even more suprising is that Lana actually practised law for two years before joining the FBI. Put two and two together, she really has more money than anyone can imagine._

_Her Lake Forest apartment was great, a bit expensive and a bit far from downtown, but it was worth it. She didn't want to leave just because someone trashed her place. These things didn't scare her. These things shouldn't scare her. It comes with the job._

_Another reason for hesitating was Kalinda, she thought she could drop by anytime but realized later on that she was a private investigator, she'd manage to find her if she wanted to. If she wanted to, she had to repeat that to herself. _

_She did find a new apartment, just as good as the old one. It wasn't in Lake Forest anymore, but it had a better feel to it. She now lived in the city, near her sister, which wasn't really a bad thing. She felt her sister needed her just as much. After leaving the family business, she's jumped from one odd job to another. You'd think someone who has had a degree from U-Penn would be making her way through the world fine, but not her sister. No. _

_A sweet, old couple welcomed her on her first night by inviting her over for dinner. She wanted to say no since she wasn't really in the mood for mingling, but she was hungry as hell and moving was very tiring. Especially tiring if your sister promised to help you out only to cancel last minute because she found a date._

_She was thankful for that later on, after meeting the sweet, old couple's grandaughter, Corinne. She was 21 and a senior at NYU. She was over at her grandparents' for the weekend. Lana was oblivious to Corinne's advances at first, she was too busy trying not to think of Kalinda. It was during dinner, when she was asked what she did for a living, when it hit her. She was explaining her work at the FBI when she suddenly felt a foot brushing up her right leg. And since she was too busy trying not to think of Kalinda, she remembered immediately how she did this to her once. _

_Corinne was no Kalinda. Lana sensed the nervousness in her lips when they made out in the balcony. Sexy time was halted abruptly when Corinne's Grandpa came looking for them. It was time for dessert._

_"Why didn't you sleep with her?" Her sister asked. She came over after her date had gone south, and she was planning on spending the night. Might as well answer her now, knowing that she has all night to ask again and again if I just keep quiet, thought Lana._

_"She's not my type." Lana answered as she opened a bottle of wine._

_"So, who is your type? You know, I never got to meet that girl." Her sister continued. She was looking for food on the table._

_"What girl?" Lana asked innocently. She poured herself some wine, drank some, and poured some more._

_"The girl. You know, the girl who made you cry. The girl you won't talk about." Her sister answered as she ate a sliced apple on the table._

_I should not have started answering, Lana thought. Now, her sister won't stop asking questions. When suddenly, her phone rings._

_"Hey, your phone's ringing." Lana calmly said. Thank god, she thought._

_"If it's a number, I don't care. Must be the stupid date I had." Her sister annoyingly answered._

_Lana glanced at her sister's phone. It was their dad. "It's dad." She said flatly._

_"Oh." Her sister mustered as she went and grabbed her phone. "Hi dad!" She answered as she walked out towards the balcony. She glanced at Lana, signaling "Give me a minute."_

_It's not that Lana was angry at her dad, they just had an understanding 10 years ago that she was never going to have anything to do with him and he was never going to have anything to do with her. _

_This happened after Lana came out in the open about her sexuality. She was a freshman student at Columbia University studying law when she felt it was finally time to come out. Her sisters already knew, showing signs at age 10, crushing on their very beautiful baby sitter. She came out over dinner one weekend, when everyone was home. And everyone meant her two grandmothers, two aunts and one uncle. It wasn't poetic, not at all. It was a simple, "Dad, I'm a lesbian. And I have a girlfriend."_

_Her dad was slicing his food when she said this. Her two sisters continued eating, while anxiously waiting for their father's reaction. Aunt Debbie was stunned for a moment, but seeing no reaction from her brother, continued eating dinner. Everybody at the table was quiet, including her two grandmothers. But it was most likely because they weren't able to hear it right._

_"What is it dear?" Nana asked as she turned to Lana, squeezing her hand in the process. Nana is her dad's mom and has lived with them ever since she can remember. _

_Lana wasn't sure if she was to answer. Her dad being quiet was something she didn't expect._

_"She said she's a lesbian." Grandma Helen answered. Grandma Helen started living with them since her daughter, their mom, had passed._

_"A lesbian?" Nana asked slowly. "Now really, dear?" Turning to Lana. Her sisters were trying to stifle their laughter. Lana started smiling, when they noticed that their dad had finished eating. He wiped his face then placed the napkin on the table, looked at Lana straight in the eyes coldly and said nothing. _

_"Dad," Lana began. But by then, her dad had stood up and excused himself from the table._

_Lana's uncle, stood from his chair as well, and walked up to her. He embraced her while she was seated and whispered, "No matter what happens, we are all family. I promised your mom I would help take care of you guys. And I will. So don't worry too much. Okay?"_

_She smiled and thanked him for the reassurance. He then left and joined his brother-in-law in his study._

_Lana was expecting her dad to be calmer the next day, so she waited until then to talk to him. When she got down for breakfast the next morning, her father was already on his way out. He noticed Lana standing by the stairway. He stopped, looked at her and waited for her to speak._

_"Dad, I know this isn't easy for you to take all in in one night." Lana started._

_But before she could continue, her dad stopped her and started speaking. "You're right. This is one hard pill to swallow." He sighed, barely looking at her. "If... this is what you want, then I wish to be not a part of it."_

_Lana crossed her arms and tilted her head in question._

_"I have an image to uphold, a responsiblity to more people than you think. I do not want to care how you wish to live your life. I just want to be not a part of it anymore." He emphasized on not._

_Her dad was staring in her eyes this time. Lana couldn't speak. She didn't know what to say. You could see the hurt in her eyes, but she was trying hard to conceal it._

_"I will help you finish your studies, but everything you do outside of it, I will have none of that. And I will have none of that nonsense in this house. If you stay in this house, you live by my rules."_

_Lana wanted to say something, but didn't know where to start. "Wh—what... what do you want me to do?"_

_By this time, her sisters and aunt have stood up from the table and started listening to their conversation. Lana's older sister was slowly walking towards them and was about to speak up when their dad saw her and stopped her on her tracks._

_"You—do not butt in." Pointing to Lana's older sister, he was trying hard to control his anger. Turning to Lana, he continued, "You disowned me last night when you said those things." He started walking towards the door. He stopped before he opened the knob and said, "You know, I had high hopes for you. Very high hopes, your mom and I."._

_"We had high hopes for all of you." Turning now to his two other daughters by the kitchen doorway and almost shouting this time. Then turning back to Lana, "You disappoint me. And I don't want to be disappointed any longer. I've removed all expectations of you. If you ever need anything, you can just go to your sister." And with that he turned the door knob and left the house._

_Lana just stared at the door for what seemed like eternity. _

_She was still staring at her balcony glass door when she noticed her sister smiling at her from outside. She smiled back. _


	5. Chapter 5

5

That was almost a year ago. That was one long year, indeed.

She was fixing her things, getting ready to go home when she remembered. Maybe it was the sad memory or maybe it was the tiring week, but she suddenly felt weak in the knees. She sat on her chair and closed her eyes for a minute or two.

She was about to drift to sleep when she heard ringing. She thought she was dreaming, but the ringing became louder. She jolted from her seat, her sister was calling her. The sudden ringing made her heart race.

"Yeah?" She answered.

"Hey! Are you on your way home?"

"Uh—" Lana was gathering her thoughts. "About to. I'm just fixing my things. Why?"

"Let's go out."

"No. I'm too tired. Maybe some other time."

"Oh come on, Lana. You've been so busy at work, you need to _chillax_." She was smiling, she didn't know why in the world she used that word—_chillax_.

This made Lana smile, "Chillax? Really? You're using that now?" She gave a little chuckle.

"There you go. I made you smile, didn't I?" She was feeling proud of herself.

Lana was smiling alright.

"So, Special Agent Delaney. You need to have some fun. You need to go out with me. Tonight." More imposing this time.

"No, I need to sleep." Lana emphasized on the word need. It was true, though, she really did need to sleep. She's been working for more than 72 hours already, she can't even remember when she last slept on her bed.

"Oh come on. You're bursting my bubble."

"Let me guess, a date bailed out on you. And now you're calling me because you're so eager to go out."

"I'm calling because I'm so eager to see you!" Her sister teased.

This made Lana smile some more. Having her sister around made everything lighter. Ever since she moved back to the city, she has spent more time with her. And the past few weeks have been difficult because she has been so busy at work, they never really got to see each other often, let alone talk. She was tempted to give in to her sister's request, but her body just felt so weak.

"Tomorrow. I promise." Lana offered.

Her sister sensed the weakness in her voice, so she gave up. She sighed and said, "Alright, tomorrow then."

Lana was about to hang up when she heard her sister say, "Hey, be careful on your way home. Okay? It's late."

"I will, thanks." And they both hung up.

She was about to stand up when somebody knocked on her door. It was Agent Kelly Parson.

"Thought so." She said. "You're going home late."

"Yeah. It's been a tiring few weeks. I'm finally going to get some sleep." Lana said.

"Let's walk out together?" Agent Parson offered.

"Sure." And they walked out.

They've been friends a long time, having entered the Chicago office at the same time. Lana suddenly remembered how she had betrayed her trust, though, up to this day, Agent Parson still had no idea.

_It was a few weeks before the bust on Lemond Bishop. They were talking at Agent Parson's office one time, Lana and her. They were talking about some movement in the upper office, how Agent X was going to be transferred to Tulsa, and his position was going to be vacant. A lot of agents were vying for this post._

_Lana noticed a lot of folders on Agent Parson's table and browsed through them. She was handling simultaneous cases herself, so she really wasn't envious.. In fact, if she could throw some at her, she would. There were simply too many cases, and her personal time was being eaten up. _

_One folder caught her attention, though. There were photos peering out of the folder and one of them had Eli Gold's face on it._

_"Can I?" She asked Agent Parson politely. The case might be a need-to-know-basis for all she knew._

_"Yeah, sure."_

_She browsed through the photos and wasn't really surprised when she saw a photo with Kalinda in it. It showed her talking to Eli Goldman in an office. It really didn't look too compromising. When Agent Parson noticed Lana's interest, she asked, "Would you want in on it? This investigation could be a good opportunity for you."_

_Lana declined. But asked anyway, she was becoming curious, "What's the investigation about?"_

_"I don't know yet. I was let in only 2 days ago. Though I was tasked to check on everyone who shows up on the photos, background checks and all."_

_"Oh." Was all Lana could muster._

_And then a phone rang. Agent Parson had to take the call outside._

_As soon as she stepped out of her office, Lana took the photo with Kalinda on it. She checked the others, made sure that none of them contained Kalinda's face. She learned her lesson before when they had the thing with the IRS, Kalinda didn't like being investigated. And since they were both in a good place now, she really didn't want anything else to go wrong. There was something about her past that she didn't want to be talked about. Never mind she was breaking laws, she was just looking out for Kalinda. And she was sure, one photo wouldn't really mean anything to this case. _

_When Agent Parson came back, they continued talking about the movement upstairs._

As she stepped out of the office building, and the cold night wind brushed through her face, she remembered a familiar setting a good two years back when Kalinda showed up out of nowhere to greet her on these very steps.

There was a car waiting in front, it was for Agent Parson. It must be her husband, she thought. They said their goodbyes and then left.

Lana was left alone on the street. It became still and quiet. She tucked her scarf inside her coat as she walked towards her parked car.

It was a big SUV, she's been thinking of selling it and buying a smaller one. A car perhaps? But the SUV has so much character, so much attitude. And for some reason, most FBI agents, had this kind of vehicle. A smaller SUV would be nice though, she thought. Cars ran through her head as she walked on the side of the road. It was 10 in the evening, and there weren't a lot of people (or cars) in this area.

There was a guy standing across the street when she got out of the building and she noticed this guy looking at her. He threw his cigarette on the pavement and started walking when she walked on the street. It could simply be a coincidence, but her gut-feeling was telling her something was up, it was as though he was waiting for her. She could hear the footsteps, the sound of boots touching the concrete pavement. A car passed by as she continued walking. When the car made a turn, the street became empty and she could hear the smallest of sounds and she could see the tiniest of details.

There was the sound of dripping water from a wall pipe. Some of the buildings on this street were old. In the morning, everything becomes alive. People walking to and from the FBI building, cars passing by, shops roaring with customers. But as soon as the sun goes down, the life of this street goes down along with it. There was a convenience store in the corner and a deli shop next to it, though she's not sure if the latter was still open at this time of night. She could stay there for a while, at least there are people there. But what the hell, I'm a federal agent and I'm armed. Why should I be scared of this guy? She thought to herself.

She slowed down and glanced behind her. The guy, probably 6'3" tall, was almost 5 meters behind her. He reached for something in his pocket and Lana's heart beat raced thinking that he might just pull out a gun, but she breathed easily when he pulled out what looked like a cellphone.

He was walking at a slow pace at first, Lana knew, there was a beat to it. Then it sounded faster, soon he was approaching her. She had little time to react, but good thing she didn't because it turned out he was just passing her. He walked quickly towards the convenience store and went inside.

Great, Lana thought to herself. She tried walking faster, and quickly glanced at the store as she was about to make a turn on the next street. She saw the guy inside staring at her. She tucked her coat and continued walking. There was a sudden sound, the sound of door chimes. She glanced back and there he was again. She was sure, this time, he was following her.

She could see her car now, there was no other vehicle in the parking lot. It wasn't as dark here, the FBI made sure of that. They added security measures a few months ago when one agent's vehicle was taken by joyriders. There were lamp posts every two meters, and two security guards. One at the gate and the other roving. But they had to make sure they weren't exhausting too much of the budget on one parking lot, so the guards were until 9 in the evening only. Just my luck, she thought.

There was a sudden click and there was a sudden smell of cigarette smoke.

Lana glanced back again, that's when she saw it. As he was sliding his lighter back in his pocket, she caught a glimpse of what looked like a gun. It was terribly concealed by his jacket. He might be a cop, she thought. But what in the world was he trying to do, following her?

As a rule, she always had two guns. One on her left and the other behind her. Her knife was tucked on her left ankle. She was already calculating how she'd turn around when she reached her SUV. Her car was near now, a good 10 steps. She slowly started reaching for her gun on her left side, and turned around abruptly. "Hands where I can see them!" The usual Lana commanding voice.

The guy was startled and put his hands in the air, his cigarette dropped on the pavement. "Hey lady, watch it! That's a gun!" His voice was squeaky, no other word to describe it. A squeaky-Christopher-Walken type of voice, now that's something.

"I know." She reached for her badge in her coat and showed it, "FBI. You've been following me. I saw you right outside the building."

"No, I was not!" Said the guy, who looked quite agitated. He started looking around.

"Who are you with? Is there another guy out here?" Lana quickly glanced behind her to check, but there was no one. The parking lot was empty, the streets were empty and from a distance she could only hear sirens.

"I know you have a gun. Try and reach for it, I'll shoot. Do you understand?"

"Okay. Okay, lady. I won't do anything stupid." Said the guy.

Lana continued to slowly walk towards him, still pointing her gun at him. He was about to step backwards, when she firmly stated, "Do not move."

She was almost in front of him when he started to smile. His teeth were yellow, so yellow his silver tooth stood out. And oh my god, the smell. Must be all the coffee and nicotine, Lana thought to herself. In all fairness to him, his teeth were complete.

"Why are you smiling?" Lana asked, still pointing her gun. She was about to reach for his gun when suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and she felt a prick on her neck. Last thing she saw was the guy's smile.


	6. Chapter 6

6

It was almost 2 in the morning, Kalinda and Sarah were still at the bar. The drinking had stopped two hours ago, the most they have done was talk and some touching here and there. This wasn't the kind of bar most people would go to. It was actually a coffee shop, and a good one at that. They have served Kalinda's morning after drinks for years now, usually a warm milk or a freshly squeezed orange juice, but seldom coffee.

Every night, except Sundays, the door next to the hallway leading to the comfort rooms would open. This led to a private room, big enough for thirty people to move around freely and cozy enough for intimate meetings. Never mind how Kalinda found out about this piece of gem, what only matters is she knows about it. There are rooms upstairs rented out to people who need a place to _crash for the night_, but everyone knows _crashing_ meant something else.

Good thing she knew the owner of the place, she gets to stay later than most customers. This was a good change of scenery for Kalinda. It has been a tiresome week at work.

"I didn't know you had a sister here in Chicago?" Kalinda began.

"Oh, so we're talking about families now?" Sarah, the masseuse, teased. They talked about work first, which led to a lengthy discussion. Then they talked about previous relationships, Sarah felt Kalinda was holding back on some things, but that was better than not talking at all so she let that go. Their conversation moved to the other people in the room, how the couple in the far corner annoyed them as hell. And then there was the creepy guy staring at them from the other end of the bar, they never did find out who he was and what he was doing there. Obviously, he wasn't out on a date.

They talked for hours, commenting negatively on the people around them. And this wasn't how Kalinda usually rolled. It was Sarah's idea to observe and give side remarks. Kalinda enjoyed it a bit, thinking that this was how a normal relationship would look like, people talking.

Sarah felt Kalinda was making an effort, trying really hard to be in the conversation. And for a second, she felt like this was the first time Kalinda had a normal date wherein people talked.

Kalinda smiled.

"Yeah. I have a sister here. You guys might just hit it off. Both of you have a past you won't talk about." Sarah continued.

"Oh? So she doesn't have any preference as well? And what makes you think I have a past I won't talk about?" Kalinda asked playfully, as her left hand was caressed by Sarah.

"Oh come on. You're always guarded. I wasn't born yesterday. I can tell when people are trying hard not to talk about something." Sarah answered with a smile.

That smile, Kalinda thought. Her mind was wandering off again. She tries so hard to be in on the conversation but sometimes, she can only do so much. Her thoughts were going back to Lana.

"What?" Sarah asked her, noticing the sudden empty look in her eyes.

"Nothing." Kalinda smiled. "Anyway, so, just one sister?" She continued asking.

"I have two, actually." Sarah was more than happy to talk about her family. This meant Kalinda was interested in knowing more about her.

"Both are here in Chicago?" Kalinda questioned.

"Nope. The other's in LA, she's a doctor, you see." She answered.

"Wow. A doctor." She was genuinely becoming interested now. Better than having to think of Lana, she thought. "I know you're a masseuse, but you mentioned you studied business. So why a masseuse? Not that I'm complaining." Kalinda said with a smile. She wasn't complaining alright, she knows what Sarah's capable of in a massage table.

Sarah smiled back. She was hesitant at first, but she answered anyway. "It was my dad's idea for me to go and study business. I didn't want it, but I mean, the money's coming from him so what the hell."

Her sisters had medical and law degrees, both from reputable universities. So when her father asked her what she wanted to take up in college and couldn't give an answer, he proposed for her to take up anything business related. That way, she can enter the family business and end up running it like her mom.

"He wanted me to enter the family business. Since he's in the government, he can't do both private business and government work." Sarah continued.

"Hm. You rich or something?" Kalinda asked.

Sarah gave a faint chuckle. "I worked for the business but I left after three years. I've been doing odd jobs ever since. A coffee bartender, a waitress, and most recently, a masseuse."

"Which you're very good at, might I add." Kalinda offered.

Sarah was flattered. It felt nice when Kalinda offered kind words.

They talked some more for what felt like hours. The bar keeper, Tom, as Kalinda called him, was signaling something to her. She checked her watch, it was almost 4 in the morning.

Kalinda gave Sarah a very seductive smile and began touching her legs when her phone vibrated.

Sarah smiled at her. "It's okay. Get it, it might be your work." She was used to Kalinda's work needing her even in the wee hours of the morning. Five dates and everytime, every-freaking-time, that stupid phone rings and she's gone.

Kalinda checked her phone, it was a message from an unregistered number asking her to go to her car.

Is that a joke, she asked herself. She was trying to decide whether to go outside and check her car or not.

"What is it?" asked Sarah. "It's nothing," Kalinda answered. She wasn't sure if it really was nothing. She might end up being beaten up, for all she knew. She can't think of any pending cases that would have something against her. Or it could be Cary, still trying, and I emphasize on the trying part, to win her over. She thought of Mr. Bishop. But it was settled a long time ago, she answered her own thoughts. Nick? No. I think I scared him good this time. Have I?

Or maybe it's Lana. The thought made her heart skip a beat. But why would Lana want me to check my car at 4 in the morning? Could she be there? How in the world would she know where I am? Kalinda asked these questions in her head.

"Hey. Maybe we can call it a night?" Sarah offered. She knew when Kalinda's mind was off wandering. She offered to call it a night to make it easier for her. She didn't mind it, the long conversations they've had was more than enough.

The date was not going anywhere soon. She knew about the rooms upstairs, and Kalinda hasn't tried hard enough to make her motor running. When she did start, her phone vibrated and that was it. Stupid phone. Every time.

Kalinda's mind was blank when she heard Sarah's voice. She gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry Sarah.. I'll make it up to you. Promise. I just need to check this out." She pointed to her phone.

Sarah exited through the front door and off to the not-so-busy street, it was almost 4:30 in the morning after all. She thought of calling her sister, but she was probably sound asleep. She has been working non-stop the past week. She didn't want to wake her up just because her date had gone south again. It wasn't all that bad, though, at least they were talking. She felt Kalinda wanted something deeper, deeper than just a sexual relationship. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing.

Kalinda went out the back because that is where she usually parked. She saw her car, beside two other vehicles that were already parked there when she arrived. Must have crashed-for-the-night, she thought. She slowly walked towards her car, she didn't know what to expect.

She realized, as she approached the car, that she didn't have any protection. No gun, no bat, no nothing. She was thinking of turning back, but her curiosity was piqued. She continued walking.

There was nothing on the passenger side of her SUV. She was slowly moving to the other side when she saw drips of blood on the pavement. This made her heart race. She mumbled, "What did I do now?".


	7. Chapter 7

7

Two more steps. Then she saw someone slouched on her left front tire, a bloodied and beaten someone. She noticed the hands and the color of the hair, which she recognized immediately. "Lana!" Kalinda screamed as she knelt on her side. She checked her pulse. Good, you're alive, she thought to herself. Her skin was cold, her hair was wet. Her mind was going blank, trying hard to think what to do first.

Lana's shirt was was all bloody. The thought of her bleeding to death scared Kalinda. Her stomach was bleeding, there was a wound there somewhere. Her right leg was bleeding, so there might be a wound there too. She smelled of alcohol, which confused Kalinda. Was she drunk? Was she out drinking when this happened? But her face was badly beaten, bloody lips and what looked like a broken and disheveled nose. Her right brow was bleeding profusely. She was beaten up. The sight of Lana like this was heart-breaking, but Kalinda would have none of that. She had to be focused if she was going to keep her alive. And her shoes, where were her shoes?

Kalinda took off her coat and wrapped it around Lana to keep her warm. She then unzipped her jacket and tore a piece of cloth from her shirt, she used this to apply pressure on Lana's stomach wound. With one hand on her wound, she used the other to grab her phone and call 911.

After hanging up, she remembered the other wound, the one on her thigh. She tore another piece from her shirt. She herself was feeling cold now. Before applying pressure on both wounds, she placed her jacket on Lana's feet to keep them warm.

Kalinda was staring at Lana's bloodied face when she began coughing out blood. "Lana?" Kalinda called out to her.

Lana coughed some more, blood continued to come out of her mouth.

Kalinda could hear the sirens now. They were getting nearer.

Turning to the woman in front of her, "Lana, can you hear me?" She said softly. For a second, Lana's eyes opened. She was there, Kalinda knew. "Lana?" She tried again, which was more like a hush this time. But Lana did not respond. "Don't worry, they're almost here. You're going to be fine."

Kalinda stared at her face for what felt like eternity. She gently leaned her forehead on hers and when she couldn't help it any longer, tears rolled down her eyes.

It reminded her of when she basically begged Lana for her life, but she still chose her work over her. And now, Lana was the one fighting to stay alive.

She could feel the blood through the cloth. She pressed harder on her wounds to stop the bleeding. The cloth was soaked and both her hands were covered in blood.

It was two minutes later when the paramedics arrived. They were asking Kalinda a lot of questions, which began to frustrate her. She kept repeating what she had told the guy on the phone, that she just found her there and that's when she called for help. She said she looked like she was beaten up, but she wasn't sure.

They asked her if she would like to ride with the ambulance. Part of her wanted to stay to check the area for clues, just to make sure. But she wanted to be there for Lana so bad. She picked up her jacket, which was left by the paramedics on the pavement after attending to Lana. She put them on and joined them.

Inside the ambulance, the two paramedics were moving with urgency. It felt like they knew something she didn't. Was she supposed to panic now? Was Lana going to die? She refused the thoughts to enter her head.

The paramedic beside her was checking Lana's vital signs after placing a tube inside her mouth, it must have been for oxygen. The paramedic across was writing something on a form. "Ma'am?", the paramedic asked Kalinda. "Are you related to the patient?"

"No—no, she's a friend of mine."

"Alright. Would you know how old she is?" He asked.

Kalinda was dumbfounded. Her age, she didn't know her age. "Late 20s, I guess. Or early 30s?" Kalinda gave him an apologetic smile.

The paramedic gave her an understanding smile. "I'm assuming you don't know of any allergies and current medications?"

Kalinda nodded her head in agreement. He continued writing on the piece of form and grabbed what looked like Lana's FBI badge. Where did that come from, she thought.

"Excuse me, where did you get that?" Kalinda asked, referring to the badge.

"It was in her backpocket." The paramedic answered.

The paramedic continued writing while the other one started extracting blood from Lana. It left Kalinda wondering how he was able to do that while the ambulance was braving through the streets of Chicago. After doing so, he checked Lana's vital signs again, then said to his companion, "BPs going lower, 90/75. Pulse rate at 142."

It took them ten minutes to reach Mercy Hospital, which was probably the nearest one.

Lana was wheeled inside the emergency room and was brought in to an empty slot. The first paramedic handed the blood extracted from her earlier to a male nurse. He hurriedly went out of the ER.

Within seconds, nurses and doctors were convening around her. Another tube was connected to the first one inside her mouth, two nurses started cleaning her wounds on her face, another was preparing an IV. The second paramedic handed one of the nurses the form he was filling out earlier inside the ambulance. "Patient is female, late 20s to early 30s. Signs of hypovolemic shock. There are two external wounds, abdomen and right inner thigh. Bleeding has been controlled. She's been unconscious since we got her. That was over 15 minutes ago." He told one of the doctors.

"Would you know how she was injured?" The doctor asked.

"No, we don't. She was found in a parking lot by her friend", was all he could answer.

Another doctor was checking her eyes and was trying to talk to her, to no avail. Her clothing was cut open, it revealed a severely bruised right shoulder. "Doc—", the nurse called the doctor. "You might want to see this," she continued.

The doctor looked at the patient and urgently instructed the attending nurses, "Chest and abdomen x-ray. Now. Let's check for head trauma too. Let's act quickly."

Kalinda was looking in when they closed the curtain. A few minutes later, one nurse came out and gave her Lana's FBI badge. "Ma'am, are you related to her?" the nurse asked.

Kalinda couldn't answer for a while, then said, "I'm a friend."

"You should call her family to let them know. She might have to undergo surgery." She calmy said.

"Uh, I don't—I don't know her family. Can you notify the FBI instead? I'm pretty sure they'd know who to contact." Kalinda offered. It was shameful, not knowing about her family, not knowing anything about her at all.

"Oh, alright." The nurse took back the badge from her and was about to proceed to the nurse's station to make the calls.

"Nurse!" Kalinda called out. "Is—is she going to be okay? Can you tell me what's happening?" Shetried to hide her worry..

The nurse paused for a while. "She has gone into hypovolemic shock. It's still in the earlystages, we're doing our best to treat her.. She has lost a lot of blood, we've contacted the blood bank aleady for transfusion. And she'll have to go into surgery soon. I'm sorry but that's all I know, that's all we know for now."

Kalinda wasn't entirely sure what she had just heard. She heard the hypo- term, she didn't know what that was. She lost a lot of blood and she's going into surgery. It didn't sound as bad, but the look on the nurse's face was serious.

She stood in the hallway. She could hear the doctors talking to each other, giving instructions to the nurses. She wanted to open the curtain and stay inside where she can see Lana, but the thought of seeing her helpless and wounded made her weak. She decided to take a walk, looked for a vending machine and bought water.

She was trying to open the bottle of water when she noticed her hands. There was still some blood, some that she missed to wipe off when she was given a towel in the ambulance. She tried to think. Who would do this kind of thing?


	8. Chapter 8

8

It was almost 3:30 in the morning when the phone started ringing. Rachel was startled. She was startled some more when she realized there was a man sleeping beside her on her bed. Then she remembered, she dated this guy from the pizza shop. Ugh, she thought. She checked her bedside clock, it was 3:30 in the freakin' morning. Who would want to call me at this hour? "Hello?" She answered sleepily.

"Good morning, ma'am. I would like to speak with Rachel Delaney?" Said the person on the other line.

"Yes, who is this?" She asked as she sat up.

"This is Anthony DeMarzo from the FBI Chicago office. Are you related to Special Agent Lana Delaney?", the person asked.

Rachel started getting nervous. You don't get a call like this at this hour to bring good news. "Yes, she's my sister." She answered.

"I'm sorry to be calling you at this hour, ma'am." She heard the person on the phone say. Her heart started pounding, thoughts were beginning to form in her head.

"Agent Delaney was brought to a hospital a few hours ago, and the only information we have is that she looked to have been brutally attacked. We don't have other details yet." The caller said.

"What?! Is—is—is she alive?" She was almost hesistant to ask.

"She is, ma'am. We're just not sure how badly injured she is. I understand that you're in LA now, but could there be any other family members in the Chicago area that can proceed to the hospital? The nurse that called the FBI said she might need to undergo surgery." He continued.

"Yes, yes, of course. Um, I'll be the one to inform them. I, uh, where is the hospital?" She asked, as she clutched her head.

"Mercy hospital, ma'am." He answered.

"Is she conscious? Will I be able to call and talk to her?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, but we really don't have any other details as of the moment."

"Ok. Thank you, for the call, I mean." She offered.

"I apologize for having to be a bearer of such bad news, ma'am." He hung up.

Rachel just sat there. She then grabbed her phone, and for a second, she wanted to call Lana. She did.

The phone just rang, and rang, and rang. Nobody answered. That's when it hit her, this could really be bad. It's not a dream, it's really happening.

She got out of bed, walked to her closet, looked for a bag and started packing her clothes. She was flying to Chicago. While packing, she grabbed her phone and stared at it, she wasn't sure who to call first. She called her sister.

The phone kept on ringing and eventually went into voicemail. "Shit." She quipped. "Hey, call me now. It's an emergency." And she hung up.

In 15 minutes, she was packed and ready to go. She tried waking up the guy on her bed. He grumpily did and stared at her, "What?", he asked.

"You have to go now. Sorry." She said calmly but with urgency.

"What? It's 4 in the morning!" He said.

"I don't care. I have to leave, so you have to leave as well. Come on." She continued. She grabbed her bags and he followed. Slowly picking up his clothes.

"Move, stat!" She shouted.

"Okay, okay! Sheesh."

"But you have to drive me to the airport first." Rachel said as sweet as she could, biting her lower lip in the process.

"What? Are you crazy? You kick me out of your bed and ask me to drive you to the airport? At 4 am!" He wasn't buying into this.

"No, but it's an emergency. Come on, I'll call you when I get back." She said as she kissed him.

He didn't have a choice but to drive her to the airport. She got his keys first and headed for the car. On their way, Rachel tried calling her sister to no avail. She called her dad instead.

"Hey," The pizza guy tried to butt in, "Don't use your phone while driving!".

Rachel stopped the car and got out. "You drive, then." She imposed.

Boy, can this get any better? The pizza guy thought to himself.

"Hi dad."

"Rachel?" He worriedly asked.

"Where are you? Are you in Chicago?"

"No, I'm in Washington. Why?"

"Something happened to Lana."

"I don't have the details yet, but she's been attacked or something. And she's at Mercy hospital. The nurses asked if anyone of us could be there, she might need surgery." She continued.

Her dad didn't answer for a while.

"Dad?"

"Yeah? Have you called your sister?"

"She's not answering."

"How'd you find out about this?"

"The FBI called. I'm on my way to the airport now, I'm flying to Chicago."

"Was it—was the attack work related? Is she alright?"

"I don't know, dad. I don't know anything. Even they don't know anything."

"Okay, okay. I'll call your Uncle James, he's in Chicago now. Where is it again?"

"Mercy hospital."

"Alright. I'll call him now. Try calling your sister again. And, have a safe trip."

"Thanks. Dad, will I see you at the hospital?"

Her dad took a minute before answering. "I don't know. I don't know yet."

"Come on, dad. It's been more than ten years!"

"Honey, I have to go. I have to make that call." And he hung up.

She gave a sigh.

When Rachel got to the airport, she walked as fast as she could to the nearest ticketing counter.

"I need a ticket to Chicago." She said with urgency.

"What time would you like to leave, ma'am?" The lady at the counter respectfully asked.

"The earliest, please."

"Alright, give me a moment." She checked her computer and got back to Rachel, "The earliest would be at 7:30 in the morning, ma'am. You'd have to wait until then."

"Is there anything earlier? It's a matter of life and death, miss."

"I'm sorry ma'am, butthe earlier flight is taxying already."

"You don't understand. I'm a doctor, and I'm needed at a hospital in Chicago by 9!"

"Ma'am, this isn't like the movies, okay? Now, would you like to book a ticket for the 7:30 flight?"

Rachel gave up. There wasn't any way to get around it. "Yeah—yeah, okay. Sorry for that." She said apologetically.

"Not a problem, ma'am. We get that all the time." She smiled and said, "Here you go. Thank you for flying United."

Rachel was walking around the airport, luggage in tow, when she remembered. She had a conversation with a doctor-friend regarding the head of trauma surgery at Mercy Hospital. If she could just remember which friend.

She sat down and scrolled through her contacts on her phone. She tried calling one, profusely apologizing for calling so early in the morning, found out it wasn't him. She tried calling another, and another, and another. She finally got the right one, four calls later. She got the contact number and called.

"Dr. Gomez?" She asked when someone answered her call.

"Yes? Who is this?" He asked.

"I hope this isn't a bad time." She was apologetic.

"Not at all. I'm actually on my break."

"Great. I'm Dr. Rachel Delaney, from Cedar-Sinai in LA. I got your number from Christopher. He mentioned you in one of our conversations."

"Oh, Christopher. Alright, go on."

"Funny thing. I was actually hoping I could get a favor from you."

He chuckled, "What is it?"

"I received word that, um, my sister was rushed to your hospital probably an hour ago. The FBI said she was assaulted, they couldn't give me any other information."

"Oh." Was all he could muster upon realizing which patient she was referring to.

"Oh? It sounds like a bad oh. You know her?" She was trying to remain calm.

"Well, she was the only FBI agent we had. You mentioned the FBI, so I assumed. Then, I remember checking her badge, it's Lana Delaney. Correct?"

"Yes, that's her."

"What exactly would you want me to do?"

"Well, if you could just give me more information, I'd appreciate it. And if possible, to defer any surgery until someone from our family arrives."

"That, I can't do. I believe, she's in surgery right now. She was already in shock when she was brought in. They had to go to surgery immediately because of bleeding."

"Dr. Delaney?" Dr. Gomez asked when she didn't answer immediately.

"Was she conscious?" Was all she could ask.

"She wasn't. Look, I can check, if you need more details."

"How bad is it?"

"The phone might not be the best way to discuss your sister's current condition—" He said. Rachel didn't answer again.

"Dr. Delaney?"

"Yes?"

"I will personally attend to her, if it helps."

"That would be great. Thanks, Dr. Gomez. Thank you. Bye."

Thoughts were running through her head. She was assaulted, and now she's in surgery because of her wounds. What kind of wounds? She must have been beaten up pretty bad to require immediate surgery. The thought scared her. She wanted to run to Lana's side now.

Rrrrrring. Her sister was calling her.

"Yes?" She said meekly.

"What's the emergency?" She sleepily asked.

"Lana's at Mercy hospital, undergoing surgery. Can you go there now?"

"What? Surgery?! What do you mean? What happened to her?"

"I don't know. That's why I need you to go there to check on her."

"Check on her? You mean you're not sure if it's true?"

"It's true. Look, just go there and look for her. Okay? I think Uncle James will be there as well."

"Does dad know?"

"Yes. I called him. He called Uncle James."

"Oh."

They both went quiet.

"Will Lana be okay?"

"I don't know. I hope so. Can you go there now, Sarah? I don't want her to be alone." Rachel said, almost begging.

"I will. I will. I'll just change. How about you?"

"My flight's at 7:30. I'll be there in the afternoon."

"How about dad?"

"I don't know."

"Alright, I'll see you."

"I'll see you, too. Bye."


	9. Chapter 9

9

Dr. Gomez was finishing his coffee outside of the ER. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Dr. Delaney, she sounded worried. And she should be. Her sister lost a lot of blood and everything looked terrible when they saw her. In his line of work, it sometimes surprises him still what kind of evil humans are capable of. It looked like she was beaten up, not beaten up to death, almost but not was as though the purpose of the beating was to inflict pain, terrible pain, to make her suffer.

Blood was accumulating inside her left lung. There were a good number of broken ribs, a broken clavicle, and a broken shoulder. Her head didn't look like it was injured, except for the beating her face had received. And her wounds. The stab wound in her right thigh was so strategically placed, almost hitting a major artery. The stab wound in her abdomen lacerated her spleen. One broken rib punctured her liver. She was in bad shape, alright. He told himself as he sipped the last drop from his coffee.

He noticed a 40-ish kind of guy, wearing a shirt and jeans he probably picked up from the hamper, walking as quickly as he could. He entered the emergency room and went directly to the nurse's station. He was quickly followed by a girl, walking at a fast pace. She looked like she just got out of bed.

"Uncle James!" Sarah called.

Uncle James turned around and saw Sarah, they hugged each other.

"They said she's in surgery. We have to wait for it to finish before we find out more." He told her.

It still hadn't dawned on her, that Lana's life could really be in danger.

"What happened to her?" She asked meekly.

"I don't know. I don't think anybody knows at this time, honey." He answered.

"But I spoke to her. Last night. We spoke to each other last night." She still couldn't believe.

Uncle James just embraced her as she stared.

Dr. Gomez approached them when he finally realized who they were. "Excuse me, sir, ma'am."

Uncle James looked up, "Yes?"

"Mr. Delaney?"

"No, it's Mr. Mason."

"Oh, sorry. I must've mistaken you for another person."

"No, no. Sorry. She's a Delaney." Turning to Sarah. "I'm Mr. Mason, I'm the uncle."

"Oh, okay. Good, I thought I got the wrong people. I spoke with a Dr. Delaney over the phone. She contacted me a few minutes ago. She was asking for more information regarding her sister's condition but I couldn't give her any. I felt bad that I wasn't able to help her as I should. So, if I could be of assistance to you now—"

"I see, you know Rachel?" Uncle James asked.

"Actually, no. She called me because we have a common friend."

"Oh."

"It would be best, I think, if you stayed in the waiting area. The ER can be a bit stressful. Let me lead you to it." He offered.


	10. Chapter 10

10

When Kalinda went back to the emergency room to check on Lana, the cubicle she was in was already empty, except for the bloody hospital equipment. Lana's bloodied clothes were on the floor as well, including the coat she gave her earlier. She immediately looked for a nurse to ask about Lana, she panicked at the thought of—no, she couldn't even bring her mind to actively think about it.

"Excuse me?" She called a nurse.

"Yes, ma'am?" The nurse answered.

"The patient that was here, the one with the stab wounds?"

"The FBI agent? She's currently in surgery."

"Oh." She exhaled. "Thank you." She whispered, more to the heavens than to the nurse.

She then remembered the bloodied clothes. She went back to the cubicle and stared at them. She was debating with herself whether she'd take them or not. They might contain valuable information. She rummaged through them and opted to take pictures instead.

Where are her things? Kalinda asked herself. No gun, no phone, no keys. She was taken, but taken from where? She continued thinking to herself. Whoever attacked her knew her as well. How else would they know where she was and how to contact her? The first person that entered her mind was Lemond Bishop. Lana did, after all, put him in jail, albeit for a few weeks. He was the type of person who'd hold a grudge. The second person she thought of, however, had more reason to do this. And by the looks of it, the goal was to inflict pain, which ever way possible. Could Nick actually be the one behind all these? The thoughts gave her a headache.

It was already past 7 in the morning. She looked for the operating room, she wanted to be near Lana as much as possible.


	11. Chapter 11

11

"We don't know yet how long the surgery will last, Debbie." Uncle James said. He was talking to Aunt Debbie over the phone.

Sarah was getting agitated. Her uncle has been talking to her aunt for over fifteen minutes. The noise was getting to her. She knew they were scared as well, she wanted to find out as much as they did too. But the noise, coupled with the confusion of her sister's situation was getting to her. She went out of the waiting area and walked towards where the operation room was located. She won't be able to go inside, that she knew, but she wanted to be near her sister. She didn't want her alone.

Tears were already forming in her eyes when she reached the operating room. It looked like she wasn't the only one there. She immediately wiped her tears off of her face and tried not looking at the other person. She wasn't in the mood for small talk. There must be two operating rooms, she thought.

"Sarah?" The other person asked.

Sarah was surprised she knew her. She looked up and recognized who it was. "Kalinda?" She was confused.

"What are you doing here?" Kalinda asked.

"I'm—uh, my sister." She said as she pointed towards the operating room.

Kalinda stared at her in disbelief. She was still trying to process what she had just said. "Your sister?", hoping she heard her wrong.

Sarah meekly nodded her head.

Kalinda was almost hesitant to ask, "Lana?".

Sarah, with confusion in her eyes, asked, "How—?" She couldn't even finish her sentence.

Kalinda let out a sigh and leaned on the wall. "You're her sister." She said, more to herself than to Sarah.

"How—how do you know each other?" Sarah asked.

Kalinda wasn't sure if she was to tell her. Or how much she should tell her. Wouldn't that be awkward? Her dating Sarah now, after she went out with Lana. And in the most unexpected situation at that, both of them waiting outside the operating room.

"From work. I worked with her in a case once." Kalinda said, which was true.

"Oh." Sarah just stared at the operating room door. It sure was a small world. "How'd you find out about her?" She asked Kalinda. And then it hit her. The message she received at the bar. Could that be it?

Kalinda was debating inside her head whether she should tell Sarah the truth, that the message she received earlier wasn't for work, but was one that asked her to go to her car, which led to her finding Lana slumped on her car tire all bloodied and beaten up.

She wanted to be honest as much as possible. She thought of the consequences, the most that could happen was that she'd be investigated, like how she's related to Lana and who the text message was from. And then there was the bar. It wasn't exactly illegal, but it wasn't legal either. The only legitimate business there was the coffee shop. And the cops might look further into her past.

But at this moment, all that mattered was Lana.

Sarah noticed Kalinda was trying to think things through. She wanted to know so bad. "Kalinda.", she said sternly. "How did you find out about this?". It reminded her so much of Lana, Sarah acting tough.

Kalinda looked into her eyes. There was pain and confusion, she could tell. She deeply inhaled and said, "Remember the text message I got earlier?"

Sarah's mouth was gaping, her arms were crossed. "Oh my god.", was all she could say. "I was there."

"I could've—I would've..." She couldn't continue. Kalinda didn't know what to do, or say.

All of a sudden, the operating room door burst open, a nurse ran outside towards the ER. Another guy, who looked like the doctor, went outside as well.

Sarah turned to him and asked, "What's happening? What's wrong?"

The doctor turned to her and said, "Ma'am, it would be best if you stay inside the waiting area." And as he finished his sentence, a nurse came running back inside the operating room followed by two other doctors.

"We're doing the best we can." He continued. His face was calm, but there was a certain gloominess to it.

Sarah started breathing heavily and was about to cry. All the things she was learning now, that she was with Kalinda when she got the text, whatever the message was. And then the doctors and nurses suddenly running outside then hurrying back. It was all too much.

It wasn't like Kalinda, but the moment called for it. She embraced Sarah as tight as she could and whispered, "Everything's gonna be alright." She fought hard to stop her tears from falling. The thought of Lana _dyi_—she stopped herself from thinking it.

And then her phone rings. "Oh my god." Sarah exclaimed as she moved away from Kalinda. "Haven't you noticed, everytime we have something intimate, your phone rings." She said with a soft chuckle.

Kalinda smiled. She looked at her phone, it was Will, and answered, "Hello?"

"Kalinda. Where are you?" Will asked.

"I'm at Mercy hospital."

"Why? Are you alright?"

"Yeah- I'm just attending to a friend. Why?"

"Oh, I hope your friend's alright. We're meeting with a possible client at lunch time. We need you to be here."

"Why? I don't usually join client meetings."

"He asked for an investigator to be present. And—just be here. Would that be okay?"

"Yeah-of course. I will."

Sarah just looked at her and then remembered the conversation they were having before the operating doors opened. Her emotions were gathered now, she was more calm. "What exactly did the text message say?"

Might as well tell her everything, Kalinda thought. "It was from an unknown number asking me to go to my car."

"Your car. Outside the bar?"

"Yes. Remember, you went out the front door. I went out the back door. I checked my car and she was there."

Sarah just stared at her in shock.

"She was all bloody. Her—her face..." She paused as she tried to drag the painful memory in her mind. She described how she found her slumped. How her clothing was all bloody, the wounds that she saw. She told her about the 911 call and riding with the ambulance to the hospital.

"But why you?" Sarah asked quietly. "I mean, if you worked with her once. Why would some unknown person tell you to go outside. I don't understand." She was confused.

"I don't know, Sarah. Believe me, I've tried thinking about that myself."

"It obviously wasn't a random attack. I mean, they contacted you."

Kalinda looked at Sarah. She was right, they contacted her. They, who ever did this, knew her.

They just stood there for a while, quietly. Sarah was thinking about how this happened and why it happened. Kalinda was thinking of who did it.

"Let's get out of here. It's suffocating me," Sarah said. "Let's get some coffee."

They walked towards the ER when they noticed 2 policemen talking to the nurses at their station. One of the nurses saw them and pointed to Kalinda. Both policemen walked towards her.

"Good morning ma'am. We understand you were the companion of the person attacked earlier, a person named Lana Delaney, according to your 911 call." One of them asked.

"Yes. I made the 911 call, but I wasn't with her when she was attacked. I went to my car and she was there, bleeding and unconscious." Kalinda answered.

"Alright, would you mind releasing a statement?" he asked.

Kalinda agreed on making a statement about what happened. Sarah stayed by her side the whole time.

"And where were you between 1am to 4:30am?" The policeman asked.

Sarah butted in, "She was with me."

"And you are?"

"I'm Sarah Delaney. The patient you're referring to is my sister."

Sarah was asked to make a statement after that as well. Both of them went outside afterwards and found a coffee vending machine. Kalinda didn't drink coffee, instead, she thought of what she should do next. She had to go back and get her car, check the area for clues and then head to the office. A part of her wanted to stay at the hospital, she wanted to be there when Lana woke up. But she knew she could do nothing here. She'd be more useful outside.

"Hey, I—uh, I have to go." Kalinda said.

"Oh, okay. Of course,"

"I'd like to drop by again later this afternoon. After work?"

"Sure. That would be—yeah, sure."

Sarah felt Kalinda wanted to drop by to be with her, but realized later on, that may not be the case.


	12. Chapter 12

12

Inside the plane, Rachel stared out the window. Sarah had called earlier and told her about how the nurses and doctors suddenly ran out of the OR and then came running back again. Being a surgeon herself, a lot of scenarios had started forming in her head and these thoughts were scaring her.

When Lana told her a few years back that she was thinking of applying for the FBI, she vehemently spoke against it. The call she received earlier in the morning was the main reason she didn't want her to apply. She wasn't keen on receiving calls from the FBI stating that her sister had been injured—or worse, killed—in action.

She had a stable job as a lawyer in New York. Why in the world would she want to become an FBI agent? Though being a lawyer was her dad's idea, being a lawyer himself, Lana was good at it. If only she had stayed put in New York, none of this would be happening. She continued thinking to herself.

When she had learned about Lana's place being trashed by an unknown suspect, she just wanted to tell her, "I told you so." She had called their dad immediately upon finding out. What Lana didn't know was that Rachel usually confided in their dad about events in her life. He was excluded from it, after all. He offered security, he could have sent someone that same day. But Rachel knew Lana would hate the idea of being followed by some guy, she was an FBI agent after all. And what was she going to tell her? That the securitty personnel came from her? She would see right through that lie, she'd know it was their dad's idea, which will make her reject it even more. They ended up with the plan of asking her to move out instead. It was hard at first, trying to convince her. She seemed attached to it. The first thing that came to Rachel's mind was a girl. She knew her sister well, alright.

Her head was beginning to ache. It was 8 in the morning and she's been up since she received the call at 3:30. She hasn't had any sleep. But sleep was hard to come by, worrying for her sister like this. She worried a lot about her sisters, yes. But that's what happens when you lose your mom and your dad is away half the time. You have no choice but to act like a mother to your younger siblings, probably the reason for her being single still. Nah. Most guys were intimidated by her occupation. It was true what they said in medical school. Marry someone in your profession so that both of you will have an understanding of the occupational hazards: the 12-hour shifts, the on-calls.

The sun was hurting her eyes. She closed the window cover and just sat there. Her eye lids were becoming heavy. She gently closed her eyes, and this time, sleep came in a minute. The stewardess passing by noticed her tired eyes, she was spaced out since she entered the plane. She went to the plane's pantry and came back a few seconds later carrying a blanket. She spread them wide and gently placed on the sleeping Rachel.


	13. Chapter 13

13

Kalinda rode a cab to _the bar_, her car was still there but the area had been cordoned off. As soon as she got off the cab, a familiar face greeted her with coffee. It was Detective Burton.

"Good morning, Ms. Sharma." He said as he offered her coffee.

"Hello, Detective Burton." She gladly took the coffee and whispered, "Thank you."

"So, care to tell me what happened?" His head nodding to the place where her car was.

"I already gave a statement to one of your officers at the hospital. Do I need to make another one? _For you_?" There was emphasis on her last question.

"It depends." He was smiling at her but Kalinda wasn't smiling back. It was obvious she wasn't in the mood for _play_.

It's true. She was tired. She hasn't had sleep. She had a stressful night. No, she had a stressful few weeks. And last night was supposed to be her way out, finally finishing a long-overdue case at work. That was the reason she called Sarah in the first place. She wanted to think about other things other than work. But then she got the message. Her night with Sarah ended abruptly and her night with Lana began. She would've been happy to see her in a different circumstance, probably one where Lana's life wasn't in danger.

And to make matters worse, she finds out Sarah and Lana are sisters. Where in the world did that come from?

Kalinda had not been able to process _that_ yet. She understood what Sarah had said, but she hasn't had the time to think things through. She hasn't had the time to think about _everything_ that has happened.

Detective Burton noticed the serious face. He immediately realized she wasn't in the mood for this, so he stopped. "Sorry. I know it's been a rough night. You're right, we were told already about your statement."

Kalinda acknowledged the effort.

"I'll be in touch, probably within the day. I might have more questions for you once we find out more."

"Okay." She said with a weak smile. "My car. Will I be able to get it?"

"I'll try to talk to my supervisor, since the incident happened outside it. We'll try to finish everything today. But, uh, the earliest you could get it back could be tomorrow."

"Oh. I'll just get some of my things then. I have to report to work."

"Okay". He let her get her things from her car. The whole time he was just staring. She knew Kalinda. She wasn't the type who liked to talk about things. But he wanted to offer still. "Hey." He said as she was about to walk away.

"Yes?" Her face was somber.

"It's been rough, I know. So, if you want to talk about it, or if you just need company. You can talk to me, alright?"

She smiled and nodded.

He wasn't done. He knew who he victim was. He had heard rumors about the two of them, a few years ago, when he started _going out_ with Kalinda. He wanted to ask then, but he didn't have the courage. There was no holding him back now.

"Special Agent Lana Delaney." He said as loud as he can.

Kalinda stopped walking and faced him, gave him a straight face and asked, "Yes? _The victim_. What about her?".

"She's your friend, right? How long have you known her?"

"Yeah, a few years."

"Is it true?"

"Is _what_ true?"

"I have a friend at the FBI. He said she's a lesbian, you know."

"I wouldn't know. We don't really discu-"

He cut her mid-sentence. "They started here in Chicago together and he said, he'd see her go out on dates with different ladies."

"I said, we don't really discuss these matters." Kalinda's face was as straight as hell.

"I have other friends, as well, saying they've seen _you_ out on dates with _her_." He continued.

Kalinda didn't answer, but her gaze never left his face.

"So, is that true?" He was waiting for an answer.

"So what if it's true? What do you care?" She took a step towards him.

Kalinda was standing in front of his face now, he knows he pushed some buttons. "I don't. But as an investigating officer of the law, I might just get interested. There are a lot of angles here, Kalinda. And you could be one of them."

Kalinda didn't answer for a while.

"I'm not saying you did this." He was quick to say.

"Then what are you saying?" She asked even though she knew what he meant. This meant him doing background checks on her, finding out about nights spent with Lana, finding out about the threat to her life, finding out about Lana's apartment. Sure, he might find out about Nick. But the struggle within, -for self-preservation, in protecting her secret-, it was starting to unravel. One side was winning. She didn't want to care anymore about her past. She only thought of Lana.

"I'm just saying-" He continued, "-past cases, past grudges, past relationships even. They might be the ones behind this act. But it most certainly has something to do with you AND her. Why else would they contact you?"

He was right. "Just do what you have to do and I'll cooperate." It was all she could say. She started walking away again, she had to be at work in a few hours. She still needed to go home and change. And the conversation was tiring her more and more.

"Was it serious?" He called out. She almost didn't hear it because a cargo van whirred by. Kalinda stopped on her tracks. She wanted to answer back but hesitated.

She continued walking and didn't answer.

She hailed and cab, hopped on and gave her address.

As they passed by buildings, she tried thinking of what had just transpired. She asked herself the same question, who could do something like this to Lana? The answer was already forming inside her head, but she tried rejecting it. It's possible, but she didn't want to believe it.


	14. Chapter 14

14

_It was the same day she broke Lana's heart, only earlier. It was right after confronting Nick about him trashing Lana's place. She was confused and angry because of the photo that Nick showed her._

_After leaving her apartment, Kalinda walked around the block and tried to think things through. _

_She felt betrayed. She was beginning to trust Lana, sure they played each other often times, but recently, they've been more open to each other. Both of them reached an agreement that they'd leave out work whenever they were together. So why was she investigating her? Although she wasn't sure whether she really was investigating her. Nick had told her there were dozens of these photos around. She's been at her apartment, just the other day in fact, and she really didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Now, if there were dozens of them there lying around, she was pretty sure she'd see them. _

_Or Nick could just be playing her. But the photo was real. Playing or not, something was up. _

_She hated it whenever Nick did this. He made her feel weak. She knew how she was with him, she'd fall into his power, she'd let him control her. But she didn't want that anymore. She turned back and walked towards her apartment._

_When she entered, Nick was still there, sitting on the couch, as if he knew she'd come back. He gazed at her eyes, waiting for her to speak first._

_"I don't care if she's investigating me. You lose, Nick."_

_Nick smirked._

_"There's no place for you in my life anymore." Kalinda continued. _

_Nick just stared and didn't answer. As Kalinda started walking out, he immediately stood up and grabbed her arm to stop her. _

_"You think it's that easy, Leela? He emphasized on Leela. Kalinda didn't answer._

_"She's investigating you." He continued as he let go of her. "How long before she finds out about everything? It won't be a pretty sight."_

_He was right, Kalinda thought. She remembered how she begged her to side with her, to stop investigating Bishop. But she still went on with it, knowing it could get her killed. _

_There was a smirk forming on Nick's face. He knew he had her under her control. Just a little doubt and she's back, Nick though to himself. But Kalinda snaps out of it._

_"The sooner she finds out, the better." Kalinda said quietly._

_"What? You think she'll take it easy on you? She's a Fed! Haven't you processed that in your puny little brain?" He said while poking her forehead hard._

_She slapped his hand away from his face. "You don't get it, Nick. What we had will never be close to what Lana and I have."_

_Nick was taken aback a bit by what he heard. Even Kalinda was surprised at what she said. Her voice trembled a bit. _

_She wasn't even sure what she really has with Lana. She was treading on water now. If Nick saw right through her, she'd have no way out._

_She wanted to believe that she and Lana were already having a real relationship. It wasn't just casual sex anymore, they go out for drinks, they go out for dinner, heck, they even watched a movie one time. Now, who would've expected that? These thoughts were running through her head. Yes, that was it. She didn't just want a real relationship with Lana. She wanted to believe she was already having a real relationship with Lana._

_Kalinda was gaining courage now, "Take the money," She said to Nick. "And when I come back, I don't want to see you here anymore." She was more imposing this time, more in control._

_She walked out on him when he didn't answer. More thoughts ran through her head as she exited her apartment, walked down the stairs and walked out of the building._

_The photo was still something she'd have to clarify with Lana. But she'd give her a chance to explain. She was feeling hopeful. She did want to make this relationship work. The thought brought a smile to her face. _

_She took out her phone, was about to dial Lana's number to invite her for dinner, when it rang. It was Nick._

_Kalinda, hoping it would stop ringing, only answered after five rings but didn't speak._

_"This isn't the end of us, Leela." Nick began. "You watch every move you make, try to remember that I will always be there ready to pounce."_

_Kalinda stopped walking. "You can't scare me anymore, Nick." It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than him._

_"Oh yeah? Your girlfriend," He began to speak slowly, he wanted Kalinda to hear every word he was going to say,"Special. Agent. Lana. Delaney. I know where she lives. You know what I can do. Think of all the possibilities." He said cheerfully at the end._

_He got her at the mention of Lana's name, but was trying really hard to be in control, "You're all talk."_

_"Am I, really? Do you really want me to prove it to you?" He challenged._

_"I have connections, you know, a lot of them. And the people I know, Kalinda, don't just kill for a living. They kill for fun." He continued, "And in this case, I can have your girlfriend wiped from the face of the earth. I can do that now, if you want. Or say, tonight? Or tomorrow morning. While she's driving to work. While she's walking down the street. While she's getting coffee. While she's having dinner—" He paused, then continued, "—with you."_

_He was beginning to enjoy this._

_"It could happen while she's sleeping. In her apartment. In your apartment. I don't care where. And that's what I like about this. There's a surprise bit to it." He sounded cheery, "You'll never know when it'll happen. It can happen five or.. ten years from now. She could be old and gray, for all I care. And the beauty of it, is that, she won't know this, but you would. The fact is, you'd be living your life in the shadows. Always thinking, always wondering. When?"_

_It was slowly starting to terrify Kalinda. Her eyes showed it. The control Nick had over her was creeping back. She was trying hard not to let it happen._

_"Her death will hurt, I'll make sure of it." Nick ended his littany._

_While trying to suppress all emotions from showing, she gently asked, "What do you want, Nick?"_

_There were some passersby that kept on looking at her. One wanted to approach to ask if she was okay. Kalinda stopped him and motioned for him to continue walking._

_With a smirk on his face, he said, "I'm not entirely sure, really." He was relishing the fact that he had control over her ex-wife._

_Kalinda didn't answer._

_"Leave her." He simply told her._

_She wasn't sure if she heard him right. She tilted her head in question, as if he could see. _

_And as if on cue, he repeated, "Leave her."_

_Kalinda still didn't answer._

_"I haven't got all day, Kalinda."_

_"If I leave her," She finally said, "—you leave her alone."_

_"I leave her alone— if you come back to me."_

_Kalinda didn't answer. She hung up instead._


	15. Chapter 15

15

Her mind must have really flown with her thoughts and memories. She didn't notice that they were right in front of her apartment already. She paid the driver, got off and walked towards her building. She slowly climbed the stairs to her floor.

Her memories felt like the real thing, she was almost afraid to enter her apartment, thinking that Nick might suddenly show up. Nobody was there when she entered.

She sat on the couch for a while and sighed. She felt tired.

As she drifted off to sleep, her mind went off to dream.

_They finished their confrontation at the Lockhart & Gardner office, Nick and her, and proceeded to a shady-looking motel in the dusty side of Chicago. Nick was right, Kalinda was lying about the locker. There was no locker. Instead, there was a room._

_Room 209. It was your average motel look, dark curtains and floral bed spreads, ones that you wouldn't want to sleep in, thinking of all the people who've slept there, all the people who've had sex there. The thought of someone being killed there wasn't even a farfetched idea._

_Nick just followed Kalinda inside the room. Kalinda walked towards the bed, and turned it over with all her might. It made a noise but Kalinda didn't budge. And then there was a carpet, Kalinda took that off. The floor was bare. Kalinda pulled the third floor panel open and reached inside. She took out a black bag and threw it at Nick. Nick slowly opened it and there was the money._

_"You will leave with this money and never bother me again. You understand?" Kalinda stared at him with a straight face._

_Nick arrogantly smiled and said, "Hey—hey—You don't make the decisions here, Kalinda!"_

_"Yes, I do." Kalinda gazed at him, smiled, then took out a gun from her coat. She shot him on his right knee, shot him again, and left him in agony._

Kalinda was startled awake by her phone's ringing.

"Hello?" She immediately answered as her heart pounded. It was Will.

"Hey, Kalinda. just making sure you'll be here for our meeting."

"Yeap. I'm just changing clothes. Don't worry, I'll be there."

"Okay."

She sat on the couch for a few minutes, and then pulled herself together. She went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. As the cold water touched her skin, her thoughts drifted to that night again, after _dealing_ with Nick.

_She went straight to the bar where she was supposed to meet with Alicia. Alicia was already trying to call her when she arrived, and sensing something was up, she asked. "You look relieved?"_

_"I am." Kalinda said with a forced smile._

_"He's gone?",Kalinda nods._

_"And you're safe?" Alicia continued to ask._

_Kalinda nods again and says, "And you are too."_

_Kalinda just stared across the bar after finishing her drink. With Nick gone, she slowly realized all that she'd given up. She wanted to take them all back, she wanted Lana back._

_After leaving the bar for the night and as she was walking towards her car, she tried to decide whether she'd go and pay Lana a visit. But what would she say? She knew now about the photo, it wasn't about her. Should she tell her about that? But if she did, she'd have to explain how she got it. Then she'd have to explain about Nick. _

_Yeah, I could start there. She thought to herself. She could begin by telling her who she really was._

_She drove to Lake Forest at 12:30 in the morning. She reached Lana's apartment quickly, and it was dark. It was almost 1 in the morning after all. Never mind how she managed to get into the building, she felt something was off when she reached her door. She knocked. She knocked several times. Maybe she's out on a date, she thought. Her knocking must have woken up the next door neighbor, the door across suddenly opened._

_"She moved out." The man said. _

_Kalinda turned around and asked, "Who did?"_

_"The one who lived there." He said, "The federal agent."_

_This is unexpected, Kalinda thought. "When?"_

_"I don't know. Probably 3 months ago."_

_"Oh." That was around the time her place was ransacked. That was when they last spoke. "Would you know where to?" She asked._

_"No." The man was annoyed._

_Kalinda felt the unwelcoming gaze so she slowly walked out. When she sat in her car, she let out a deep sigh. She was too late, she thought._

_She drove fast going home. She was angry. Though, she wasn't sure with whom. She was so pissed, probably at herself, she almost hit an incoming vehicle. "Stupid driver!" She hissed. The other driver rolled down the window and gave her the finger. Kalinda snarled._

The cold water was beginning to soothe her tense muscles. It was waking up her tired body. She tried to shake off the memories. She finished her shower, changed clothes and then left.


	16. Chapter 16

16

The Firm felt different when she entered. There were 2 men in suits. These weren't your ordinary lawyers, these were men providing security. She knew because she was good at noticing things. There was one seated, trying to look normal. His gun holster was peeking out of his right ankle. There was another by the elevator, his gun was bulging behind his suit.

Kalinda was becoming curious. Did they have anything to do with the new client? She walked towards Will's office. It was empty. She looked across and saw Will in Diane's office.

"They're waiting for you." Will's assistant told her.

"Oh…Thanks." She said. She went to the other room where two other men in suits stopped her on her tracks. Will noticed from inside, he opened the door and signaled them that it was alright.

There was a man comfortably seated in a chair, he stood up upon seeing her.

Kalinda was familiar with the face, she saw him on TV a few times, but she was not familiar with the name. Politicians, she thought to herself. No wonder they needed her here.

Will cleared his throat and said, "Kalinda, this is the United States' Attorney General, John Delaney."

Kalinda was startled a bit upon hearing the name Delaney. She forced a smile on her face and shook his hand. That's impossible, she told her self as she thought of the chances him being related to Lana.

Turning to Diane and Will, "Well…I'm sorry for setting up a meeting all of a sudden. I know you're all busy. I just flew in from Washington myself."

Diane smiled as she shifted from her seat, "We're more than glad to be of service, to the US Attorney General at that."

Will sat on one of the low cabinets on the side, "What is it that we can help you with, sir?"

John Delaney cleared his throat. "Lemond Bishop."

Kalinda looked at him and then at Diane and Will.

Diane, "What about him, sir?"

"I understand, that, your firm used to represent him."

"Used to." Will emphasized. "Sir, there was—there were some partners who have decided to put up their own firm. They took with them some clients, Lemond Bishop included."

"I know." John Delaney said. "I know. I made some calls before flying in."

Kalinda wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel.

"I wouldn't have come to you if I knew you were representing him. I came to you, because I know, you've dealt with him in the past and you might know where it would hurt him most if I wanted him investigated."

"You want him investigated?" Diane clarified. "Or—the Attorney General's office wants him investigated?"

"Let me give you a bit of background, Ms. Lockhart." John offered. "I received a call, earlier this morning, from my daughter in LA, telling me that my other daughter was brutally attacked by an unknown assailant last night. My daughter is an FBI agent based here in Chicago."

Kalinda's heart began pounding.

"I immediately made calls, I had people looking into past cases, past investigations, ones that would be big enough to cause trouble. It yielded the name Lemond Bishop."

Will shifted on his spot.

"A year ago, my daughter's apartment in Lake Forest was ransacked by another unknown person. Nothing was taken. It was as if, it was done to threaten. It was around that time, that she was investigating Lemond Bishop. And it was around that time, that your firm was representing Mr. Bishop."

Kalinda's mind was racing.

"I believe you've met my daughter, at one point, in the past. Special Agent Lana Delaney." John Delaney continued.

"I think so, yes, Agent Lana Delaney? The Bishop case wasn't the first time we've met her. Yes—yes, we've met her." Diane said.

Kalinda couldn't move. How ironic things could go? Lana was forcing her way into her life.

John smiled a bit, and then cleared his throat. "I have reason to believe that Mr. Bishop is the one behind this attack."

Kalinda wanted to speak but she couldn't. A force was pulling her down.

"But you have no evidence to support this?" Diane asked.

"None. That's why I wanted an investigator present." Turning to Kalinda. "Having uniformed officers question him would be too much, he'd know."

"I see." Will said. "Are you okay with that?" He asked Kalinda.

Kalinda just nodded.

"You will be, representing me, as the father, not as the Attorney General." John said. "And, you might be interested in representing our business as well."

Diane tilted her head in curiosity.

"Mason, Inc." John Delaney said.

"THE Mason, Inc.?" Will asked. "I didn't know that was yours. I only knew you practiced law prior to joining the government."

"I did." He said, "The business is my wife's. It's now being run by my brother-in-law. I had to let go of my board membership when I joined the Attorney General's office."

"I see. And you are looking for new representation?" Will continued to ask.

"Yes." John answered.

"So, to get things straight. You want Mr. Bishop investigated. You want us to find out if he was the one behind the attack on your daughter." Diane clarified.

"Yes. I believe there will be other investigating officers. I would want you representing her from now on, in questioning. Everything." He said.

"We understand, Mr. Delaney. And may I ask which hospital she's in?" Diane asked.

"I believe it's at Mercy hospital." He answered as he began to stand up. "I will be in Chicago for the time being. You have my number, you can contact me anytime if you need to talk." And then he walked out.

Will, Diane and Kalinda were all left inside.

"Kalinda, you've been quiet." Will asked.

Kalinda just smiled.

"Oh, how's your friend by the way? Weren't you at Mercy this morning?" Will suddenly realized.

Diane looked at Kalinda. "You were at the hospital? Why, is something wrong?"

Will unknowingly answered for Kalinda, "She was at Mercy this morning with a friend. Hey, if your friend is confined at the hospital, then maybe, when you go visit today you can check on Agent Delaney?"

Kalinda's eyes became wider at the mention of Lana. The sudden turn of events shocked her. The US Attorney General? You've got to be kidding me, she thought. And Bishop? Come on. Her thoughts continued. Should she tell them everything? Should she tell them her thoughts? But she wasn't sure it was Nick, either.

"Kalinda? Are you alright?" Diane looked at her. "You seem…how do I put this—out of it."

"Hm? Yeah, I was –it's been a long night." She said.

But what about telling the truth, she continued debating with herself. She could hear Diane and Will talking about how Mason, Inc. could help the firm. Not to mention having the good side of the US Attorney General. She dissected all the information she knew and just when she decided to tell them about the events of last night, she hesitated.

Will, upon noticing Kalinda's out-of-it look, told her, "You can take the rest of the day off. You need to rest."

"No, I'm fine." Kalinda said.

"Okay, if you don't want the day off, then maybe you can stay at the hospital? Check on Agent Delaney, try to get details on the attack. Ask anyone there, family or relatives, if there might be someone who'd take an interest on her. We might want to cross out other possibilities first before taking on Bishop."

"Alright." Kalinda answered and then left.


	17. Chapter 17

17

They've just finished surgery, but the doctors didn't look all that pleased afterwards. As they wheeled Lana out of the operating room, Uncle James caught a glimpse of her and the sight just broke his heart. He felt weak in the knees, and just in time, a nurse was able to catch him. She led him to a chair and gave him water to help him calm down.

The nurse understood what Uncle James was going through. Day in and day out, this was what they dealt with in the ER. The people who come here, the patients they care for, they have families too. Families that are sick and worried throughout the operation. She knew, she was once an expectant family member waiting for news when her brother was brought in. She found it easy to empathize with them.

"Sir?" She asked. "The doctor will be speaking to you now. Will you be alright?"

Uncle James nodded.

Dr. Gomez, the head surgeon of ER Trauma and the one who had been assisting them earlier on, sat beside him. "Mr. Mason," He began. "Lana is, somewhat, stable now."

"Somewhat?" Uncle James asked. And that was when Sarah came back in. She saw them seriously talking, she just stood there trying to listen.

"She was badly hurt—"

"How bad?" Sarah asked.

Dr. Gomez turned around and saw Sarah. "She was, well, there were a few broken bones. Her spleen was lacerated, her liver was punctured, and her left lung had collapsed."

Sarah just stood there, taking in all the information.

"The external bleeding was pretty much controlled when she came in, but since she was already in shock, we had little time to stabilize her condition. Hence, the immediate surgery. The spleen was pretty much what caused the internal bleeding. She had lost a lot of blood, we began transfusion during the."

Uncle James looked at Sarah and then turned to Dr. Gomez, "How is she now? Will she be alright?"

"Hopefully—she will. There were a lot of internal injuries, and her left lung has collapsed. Her breathing is machine assisted, and there is a threat for pneumonia. We're placing her inside the ICU because she needs heavy monitoring. "

"When is she waking up?" Sarah had asked. She was more composed than she had imagined.

"We can't predict that. Let's give her at least a day of rest, she has gone through a lot. She will be in the care of the ICU unit, you don't have to , and one last thing. She was beaten up pretty bad. Her face has some stitches and has some swollen areas. I think you were able to see that for yourself, Mr. Mason. Now, it's not the best sight, but the important thing is she's now under our care and we will do everything to make sure she heals." Dr. Gomez reassured them.

Sarah stayed in the hospital with Lana while Uncle James went out. He said he had to talk to some people. He had called John to let him in on the information he's gathered. They talked for a few minutes before he was given new instructions by his brother-in-law. He had to leave the hospital to make the necessary arrangements.

Sarah was just outside the ICU, she couldn't go in, she couldn't stand to look at Lana. It was unbearable, with so many tubes connected to her,so much "beeping" sounds and her face. It didn't look like Lana at all.

Kalinda had texted her earlier asking where she was, she instructed her to go to the ICU area.

"Hey." Kalinda whispered as she gave her a smile. "How is she?"

Sarah forced a smile. Kalinda stood there with her outside and leaned on the wall.

So many emotions were going on inside Sarah. She had to compartmentalize. It was time to confront Kalinda.

"You broke her heart, you know?" Sarah began.

Kalinda gave her a confused look. "What?" She was trying to act innocent, but she was slowly realizing Sarah was no fool.

"You broke my sister's heart." Sarah repeated.

Kalinda did not answer.

Sarah just stared at the wall across, "She was never one to cry, she was strong, always have been." She continued, "When she came home one night, she was staying with me because her apartment was sealed off—it was—there was just pain in her eyes. She just—broke. She never told me anything, she just cried."

"And for months—" she continued, "—for months, she buried herself in work."

They both just stood there silently.

"Did you know? Did you know I was her sister?" Sarah finally asked.

"No. I swear, I did not know, Sarah." Kalinda honestly said.

Sarah nodded and smiled. "You know, there were times when I felt your mind was wandering."

Kalinda didn't answer.

"We won't tell her. We won't let anyone know about us dating, alright? And it stops now." Sarah said.

Kalinda just nodded. She left without actually getting any other information. She felt there was a wall between them, so she left without uttering another word. She just took the rest of the day off as Will had offered earlier.


	18. Chapter 18

18

An hour later, Rachel arrived at Mercy hospital. People were staring at her, she looked like someone who mistook the hospital for a hotel with all the luggages she carried. Uncle James was just dropped off by his driver when she noticed Rachel.

"Rachel!" He called out to her. Rachel turned around and recognized her uncle. "Let me get your bags," He called his driver to come pick up Rachel's things and then they proceeded to the ICU where they saw Sarah just standing outside.

When Sarah looked up and saw Rachel, she came running and embraced her.

"What are you doing outside?" Rachel asked her.

Sarah didn't answer. She just continued to embrace her sister tightly.

"Sarah, why are you outside?" Rachel whispered this time.

"I can't." Sarah answered.

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"I just, I can't stand, I can't—" Sarah couldn't finish her sentence. She actually did not know what she couldn't stand the most. Was it the hospital equipment? Was it the numerous tubes connected to her sister's body? Was it the sight of her sister like that, so fragile, beaten and weak? She didn't know.

Rachel went inside the ICU together with her uncle. Everything was silent inside except for the beeping sound of the hospital equipment and soft chatter of two nurses. One nurse just came out of Lana's curtained room. She was about to close the glass sliding door when Rachel caught a glimpse of her sister.

She usually had high tolerance for these kinds of things, she was a doctor after all. But it was different when the one being treated is close to your heart, when the one who needs healing is your family.

She went inside the enclosed room, closely followed by her uncle. Never mind that she had a tube in her chest taking out blood. Never mind that her breathing was being assisted by a machine. Just by looking at her face, Rachel could already feel her sister's pain. Along with all the other injuries underneath.

"Oh my god," she whispered to herself. She went closer to Lana's side and touched her hand. She was hesitant at first, thinking it might hurt her. When she was assured by her uncle that it was okay, she held it tight. She tried to stop herself from crying. She wanted to cup Lana's face and just embrace her, but she couldn't.

She stared at Lana's face. It was bruised. It was beaten. Her nose was broken, she could tell. It was bruised on the bridge. There were stitches on her right eyebrow. Her right cheek and right jaw bone were swollen. Her lips had one or two stitches on them. She gently touched her cheek and whispered, "Lana?"

Uncle James couldn't take it any longer and just walked out. The two nurses that were chatting stopped to look at Rachel. They could feel her pain. They've had a lot of patients in the ICU and none compared to what this patient's injuries were, at least none that they could remember.

Rachel only stayed for several minutes. She didn't want to leave Lana's side, but she couldn't bare to look at her either. When she stepped out, Uncle James was already talking to her dad. Sarah was nowhere to be found.

"Dad?" She called, wiping tears from her eyes.

Her dad saw her and embraced her. "Hi, honey."

She couldn't control it any longer, as more tears began to fall. "What happened to her, dad? Who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know, honey. I don't know."

Rachel, together with her uncle, spoke with the attending doctor. Lana's current condition was explained to them in detail. Rachel just took all the information in. Her father, on the other hand, was debating with himself whether to go in and see Lana or not. When a nurse went inside the ICU, he didn't notice that he had followed. And that was when he saw her. For the first time in years. How they had separated almost ten years ago seemed so petty now. He couldn't stand looking at her daughter like this, he walked out.


	19. Chapter 19

19

Kalinda couldn't stand staying at her apartment on a weekday afternoon doing nothing. It was leaving her vulnerable to thinking about the events of last night and this morning. She was thinking of her car when the idea struck her. Lana's car.

She hurriedly went outside, hailed a cab and went to the FBI office.

She was standing right in front of the building when she heard it. Two agents passed by as they talked, "Have you heard about Delaney?". "Man, my gut's telling me it's Bishop". "That was over a year ago". "With these people, you never know". "Could it have been a random attack?" "I don't know, man. I don't know.". "Her office is sealed off.". "Police did that?". "No. Instruction came from upstairs."

Kalinda looked around. The street was very busy. There was a convenience store to the right, near the corner. Beside it was a deli shop. She walked towards that direction. Upon reaching the corner, she saw three big parking lots on the left side of the road. No signs of police. All she had to do was look for Lana's SUV. But there were a lot of them, and they all looked alike. She began with the first parking lot, found nothing. She proceeded to the next one and began looking. Stupid black SUVs. Why did they all have to look the same? She thought to herself. Then she saw it. A black SUV, with a ticket tucked on its wiper. The ticket had the "overnight" stamp on it. She went around it. No signs of struggle. No blood drippings. She could not have been beaten up here. But was she even sure this was Lana's? She wrote down the plate on her orange notebook to double check later on. The tint was dark, but she could see just enough to notice that there were things inside. There was a bag and there was a phone on top of it. Kalinda took her phone, scrolled for Lana's number and then called. The phone inside the SUV was ringing. It hurt her when she saw that only a number showed up, no name. She erased my number, she thought.

She looked around some more. The other vehicles didn't have "overnight" tickets on them. Lana's vehicle was probably the only one left last night. She looked at the lamp posts. At the far corner, one lamp post had a CCTV camera. It had a direct view of Lana's car. Was she inside the car when she was attacked? Was she about to get in? She was looking at the pavement again when she saw a used cigarette. It was a different kind, one that had no filter. The label said _Lacampana_. Mexican, perhaps? It was barely used. She took a picture of it and left it there.

She heard some commotion at the parking gate. The police finally caught up. And in less than a minute, Detective Burton showed up behind her.

"Fancy seeing you here." He said.

"Yeah? I thought you wouldn't show up. I've been waiting all day." Kalinda countered.

"I hear your _friend's_ out of surgery."

Kalinda didn't react.

"You might want to check that CCTV." Kalinda said, pointing to the one on the far corner. "And that cigarette." Pointing to the one she found earlier.

Detective Burton instructed his officers to take note. "You know, her office is sealed off."

"Oh?"

"If you know anything as to why, let me know. We're on the same side here." He said.

Kalinda nodded and walked away.


	20. Chapter 20

20

Before reporting for work the next day, Kalinda decided to drop by the hospital to ask Sarah some questions, and to check on Lana as well. She was careful with how she asked things, she didn't want to look too involved with Lana.

The ICU was empty when she came. A nurse was fixing an empty bed. Was Lana transferred to another room? Empty hospital beds didn't sit well with Kalinda.

"Kalinda!" Somebody called out. She turned around and it was Sarah.

"Where's your sister?" She asked.

Sarah gave her a smile, as if reassuring her that everything was alright between them, and explained, "Lana's being transferred to Northwestern Memorial, at the request of my dad."

"Oh." Kalinda thought, relieved. "Your dad, who turns out to be the United States' Attorney General?" She asked .

Sarah smiled some more. "M-hmm." She answered playfully.

This reminded Kalinda of another time when Lana answered her the same playful way, right before searching Bishop's house, a year ago. Kalinda then gave Sarah a smile. "So, how's your sister?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Lana?"

"Is there any other sister that I should ask about?"

Sarah smiled coyly. "You want to have breakfast?" She offered.

"It's not a date, Kalinda. I'm just hungry, I haven't eaten anything yet." She reassured her when she didn't answer.

"Okay." Kalinda agreed shyly.

They traveled to Northwestern Memorial and found a cafe there. They ate outside.

"You like eating out in the cold too?" Kalinda asked.

"Yeap. Something I learned from Lana, less people, more privacy." Sarah said with a sheepish smile.

Kalinda didn't know if Sarah was trying to play her, or trying to taunt her. She didn't mind though. She began explaining to Sarah how her father had asked their firm to represent Mason, Inc. and his family, Lana included. She shared to her how her father thinks Bishop is the one behind it and that he wants him investigated.

"Does he know about you?" Sarah asked.

"What do you mean?"

"That you were the one who found Lana."

"Oh, that. No."

"Well, you might want to come clean with that. It's in the police statement, remember?"

Kalinda just kept quiet.

"Do you think that Bishop guy is really the one behind this?"

"I don't know. I was asked to double check, there might be other people who are out to get your sister."

"Lana."

"Yes. Your sister, Lana."

"Are there other people who might be out to get her?"

Kalinda just looked at her as she ate her waffles. "I don't know. You tell me."

Sarah looked up. "Well, if you're talking about the people she's investigated in the past, I wouldn't know. Outside of work, I know of none."

"How about—" Sarah continued, "—you? They contacted you, right? They must know you."

Kalinda's mind Nick-throttled.

"Was there a case you both were in? Or were there people who weren't happy with your relationship with her?" Sarah asked her.

She explained the Bishop case, the connection between her and Lana at that time. She wanted to come clean about Nick too, but again, she hesitated.

"That Bishop guy continues to pop up, huh. No wonder my dad wants him investigated." She just stared at Kalinda.

"You're right." Kalinda answered with a smile.

"Look, Kalinda. This is my sister we're talking about here. If you find out about anything, and I mean, anything under the sun, promise me you won't keep it to yourself?"

Kalinda couldn't tell if she was trying to imply something. She studied Sarah's eyes. They were really so much alike, Lana and her. "I promise." She answered quietly.


	21. Chapter 21

21

Kalinda reported to work that morning. Diane immediately asked for her in her office.

"Great, we're all here." Will announced as he entered the room. "So, where are we on the investigation, Kalinda?" He continued.

Kalinda was debating with herself inside her head. She's decided she won't tell them about Nick, at least not yet.

"I was the one who brought Agent Delaney to the hospital." Kalinda blurted out.

Diane looked up.

"What?" Will said.

"I was in a—bar when I received a text message asking me to go to my car, and when I did, she was there. I've released a statement to the police, so I thought, I should let you guys know..."

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier, Kalinda?" Diane asked.

Kalinda made an apologetic face.

"Why contact you?" Will asked, more to himself than to anyone else in the room. "Is there a connection between the two of you?"

"There was Bishop." Diane said. Will looked at her. "Agent Delaney was then investigating Bishop as told by her father, and Kalinda, was somehow caught in the middle. Investigated because she received payments for doing work for Bishop."

"But that was cleared a long time ago." Kalinda said.

"Yes. Yes, it was." Diane muttered.

"He was jailed, right? Though for a short period." Will told them.

"That's right. You never know with these hooligans. You think everything's fine one minute, then he does something unexpected the next." Diane answered.

"So, Mr. Delaney's accusations aren't unfounded." Will said.

"I would think so..." Diane continued, "If I had the whole justice department at my disposal, I'd make sure I'm only given right information." She gave out a soft chuckle.

"Is there anyone else, Kalinda? Perhaps a common friend." Will, turning to Kalinda this time.

"Or enemy for that matter." Diane mused.

Kalinda hesitated. "No one. I can't think of anyone."

Will, sensing the hesitation, asked, "Are you sure?"

Kalinda nods in agreement.

"Okay. How about the police? Any information?"

"Um..." Kalinda opened her orange notebook. "The CCTV footage showed she was abducted at the parking lot around 10:30 by 2 men. They didn't get a face. The cigarette found in the scene was checked. A Mexican brand that does not sell here legally, bought in the black market."

"Could it have been planned?" Diane asked after a deep thought.

"The whole thing? Could be..." Will answered.

"She was abducted. Beaten up. Then, Kalinda was informed of her location, right outside the bar she was in. I mean, somebody went out of his way to notify her. That must account for something." Diane continued as she looked at the both of them.

"I get what you're saying. But is it possible for Agent Delaney herself to have contacted Kalinda?"

"No. Her phone was inside her car. It was shown in the security feed, they tossed her things inside her car." Kalinda interrupted.

"Oh..." Will stood corrected.

"Why would they notify you, Kalinda?" Diane asked as she turned to her.

"They wanted her alive?" Kalinda wasn't sure.

"But they could've just dropped her off at the ER. If they didn't want to be seen, use a different vehicle, wear masks, I don't know." Diane continued.

"I agree. It seems, they wanted you to be in on this as well. There must be a connection. There must be a reason." Will was talking to Kalinda.

Kalinda's face didn't show any emotions.

"Who were you with at the bar?" Diane asked.

Kalinda hesitated, but realizing it was in the statement, she just told them she was with Sarah Delaney, Lana's sister.

"You were with her sister?" Will asked.

"They could have notified you because you were with her. You weren't the target, it was her." Diane said.

"But why text Kalinda? They could've contacted the sister directly." Will added.

Diane didn't answer. They were all stumped.

"Okay, let's back up a little." Will turns to Kalinda. "If it was Bishop behind this, why would they notify you? He's the common factor between you and Agent Delaney. He's implicating himself. It doesn't make sense."

"Or that's what he wants us to believe. Even if he implicates himself, evidence should point to him. And I'm willing to bet on it that he has an alibi and the police will never find a link between him and the crime." Diane says.

Again, they all keep quiet.

Then Diane looks up at Kalinda, studies her face, and asks, "Just what is your relationship with Agent Delaney, Kalinda?"

Kalinda just stares at Diane, hesitates a bit, then goes, "We, uh, kind of-"

Diane gave her a knowing smile. "And her sister?"

"Funny thing. I didn't know they were sisters. I only found out at the hospital."

"Oh." Diane's eyes widened. "You also...?"

Kalinda, remembered what Sarah told her, "No. We didn't. We don't. We're just friends." She gave a sheepish smile.

Will heard everything but he didn't care. He was already thinking about strategies. "Is this going to haunt us later on? Say, if we get to build a case against Bishop. He is our former client. Can that be used against us?"

"It could. But wouldn't everything be against us? We're investigating a former client, a client that our rival firm took with them. We're representing a Federal Agent who investigated Bishop. Our investigator had a relationship with the said Federal Agent. Everything is against us, Will."

Had? Kalinda thought to herself.

"So, you're saying we shouldn't do this?" Will asked.

"I'm saying we get that son of a bitch. I like a good challenge. And I never really liked Mr. Bishop." Diane answered with a smirk.

"I want Mason, Inc." Will said. Turning to Kalinda, "I need to know that you're okay with this before we continue."

Kalinda smiled. "Yeah."

"Okay, good. Let's do this, then.."


	22. Chapter 22

_Lana felt like she was dreaming. Her arms and wrists were aching, but it all felt surreal. There was a dull pain in her neck and she didn't know why._

_A sudden douse of ice cold water startled her. She woke up. She tried moving her hands, but she couldn't. She was cuffed to a steel chair. She wasn't dreaming. _

_The light was dim. Her feet were bare, her coat was gone and so were her guns. She couldn't see anyone at first, but realized later on they were behind her. She heard a click and the room was filled with cigarette smoke. Then she remembered. There was a guy following her on her way to her car. She tried to turn her head to look at the people behind her, but it was met by a fist of steel. She was hit hard on the face. _

_"Take it easy, Lionel." The man told the other. "This one's got a pretty face." He said as he held her chin. Blood was already flowing from her right brow, she felt it on her cheek. Lionel, the one who hit her first, gave out a laugh. _

_The guy holding her chin stared at her face. She tried to study him, memorize his features. It wasn't the same guy who followed her earlier, this guy was older and he smelled of cigarettes and whiskey. "My name's Marcus, in case you wanted to that guy over there—" pointing to his companion, "—is Lionel."_

_"What do you want?" Lana asked._

_"You, darling." Marcus answered with a laugh. _

_She responded by throwing a knee to his chin. And another to his knee, which he favored a bit. Lana noticed this. He fell to the floor but just laughed it off._

_He stood up, with the help of Lionel, and hit her back on the jaw this time. He hit her so hard, she fell with the chair. Her ears were ringing. She tried to make it stop by closing her eyes, only to be kicked on the back. Lionel pulled her from the floor, uncuffed her from the chair and helped her stand up. Marcus then hit her in her gut, which literally took the wind off of her. She fell forward, trying to catch her breath. She didn't know who it was, but someone kicked her hard in the ear. She felt dizzy at first, then passed out a few seconds later._

_"Oh, look at what you did, Lionel." She heard from a distance. _


	23. Chapter 23

Kalinda visited the hospital everyday but never went in once. She'd meet Sarah outside and they'd have coffee, talk about things, sometimes they talk about Lana. Kalinda hasn't had the chance to see Lana ever since she brought her to the hospital.

She finally gave in to Sarah's request one morning, she went in with her to Lana's room. She hasn't been up for three days, tube inside her mouth, and another on her chest, face swollen with bruises here and there. Kalinda knew there were more wounds underneath. She couldn't go any nearer. She stayed outside the room, looking through the glass window. It was hard for her to see Lana like that.

Kalinda saw Rachel, the eldest sister, wiping Lana's lips with a damp cloth when she suddenly jolted, as if waking up from a dream. She coughed hard.

Rachel called out to Lana while Sarah called the nurses in the nearby station.

She continued to cough, you could tell she was in pain. The coughing was actually making matters worse. Rachel tried to pacify her, they were going to take out the tube inside her mouth.

"Lana, look at me. You need to relax, honey." Rachel told her. But she couldn't relax. Her breathing was shallow. She could feel pain in so many areas. Two nurses had to hold her down, as the doctor pulled out the tube.

She felt nauseous. She couldn't help but vomit.

Sarah looked at where Kalinda had stood. She was no longer there. She had walked out, she couldn't bare to look at Lana.

The doctor ordered immediately for additional medication, seeing that the original dosage wasn't enough. He had replaced the tube with an oxygen mask, then she was given something that would help her relax. One of the nurses checked on her vital signs while another came in to clean her wounds.

"I'll do the cleaning," Rachel offered with a smile. She called on Sarah to come in, and she did. "Can you help me with this?" She asked.

Sarah was hesitant. She couldn't bare being near Lana like that. She wanted her strong, not weak and unconscious.

"Look, we'll have to help her out." Rachel said when she noticed Sarah was having second thoughts.

"She needs us, Sarah." She continued.

Rachel began opening Lana's hospital gown when she noticed her bruised wrists. Sarah saw them too.

Rachel tried to disregard what she saw and continued opening her gown to clean her wounds, but what they saw was even worse. Her abdomen had bruises all over, it was bluish-purple in color. Sarah's tears were forming in her eyes as she helped Rachel clean Lana's wounds.

Rachel, on the other hand, had to be strong. There were questions in her mind, sure, but for now, she tried focusing her mind on cleaning Lana's wound.

Kalinda tried to take her mind off of Lana the rest of the morning. She reported to work immediately after, dropping in at Diane's office to report that Lana had woken up.

"Oh, Kalinda. I'm glad you're here. Will and I were about to have a meeting." Diane began. And a few seconds after that, Will entered her office.

"Any updates?" Will was looking at Kalinda.

"She woke up, just now." Kalinda said.

"Oh…How- how is she?" Will asked.

"I'm not sure. I left immediately after that." Kalinda's face was void of emotions.

"Okay..." Will muttered as he sensed something was up with Kalinda.


	24. Chapter 24

_She was woken up by another splash of cold water. Her head was throbbing, the wound on her forehead was hurting. She was seated again on the steel chair. "You're a feisty little miss, aren't you?" Marcus told her and smiled. It revealed his silver teeth. _

_Lionel pulled her up, kicked the chair out of the way, and just held her with cuffed hands from behind. Marcus was standing in front of her. "You don't sleep on us, alright little miss?" He punched her again in the gut, so hard, it made Lana puke out blood. Marcus was enjoying this. He hit her again in the same place. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. Lana couldn't speak, her mouth was all bloody. All she could do was let out a silent grunt. Lionel was the only thing keeping her from lunging forward. She saw Marcus place a brass knuckle on his hands. He hit her hard again in the gut, with all his might. This made Lana spurt out more blood. Lionel let her fall on the floor and laughed. She was in so much pain as she curled up her body, but was later pulled up by the collar of her shirt by Marcus. She heard Lionel picking up something made of wood from the floor. She was afraid to look and find out._

_Lionel was readying himself to hit Lana with a wooden bat. With her back to him, he hit her hard on her side, originally aiming for the ribs but ended up hitting her arms as well. Two birds with one stone. Two bones with one bat. Lana shouted this time, she fell to the floor as she grimaced in pain. Lionel was laughing hard, thoroughly enjoying seeing her like this. He hit her hard again, and again, and again, and again. "Four ribs." He said. "Four broken ribs." And then laughed._

_"Aren't you a federal agent?" Marcus shouted at her, taunting, almost spitting out saliva while doing so. "Fight! Fight back!" Both Marcus and Lionel laughed._

_Nothing could prepare you for this. Sure, part of their training in Quantico was to beat up and endure being beaten up, the bull in the ring, but not quite like this. This, she thought, was the beating of a lifetime. And she wouldn't be surprised if this is what would kill her._

_Marcus sat on Lana's stomach, pinning her to the floor. He readied his fist with the brass knuckle. Lana closed her eyes, she knew what was coming after. She was hit on the face hard. And then another hit. And another. And another. Her nose was all broken, her lips were all bloodied. If only her face became numb, then the pain would go away. _

_"Marcus, what about being careful with her face?"_

_"I don't care, Lionel." He responded angrily. "She hit me on the knee! My bad knee!"_

_He hit her another time. And then hit her throat just as hard. She struggled for air, Lana began to choke on her own blood. Lionel helped Marcus up and they left Lana to figure out how to unchoke herself. _

_She was bent forward, with her forehead the only thing supporting her body, when Lionel hit her with the bat again. This time, hitting her right shoulder. She lost her balance and fell to her side, she wanted to grab her shoulder in pain. He hit her again in the same area, he was in the mood for breaking some bones. And then Lionel began laughing. He sounded hysterical._

_Marcus opened a bottle of whiskey and drank some, gave some to Lionel too. Lana was still on the floor when Marcus sat beside her. She was trying hard to live through the pain, so much pain was radiating from different parts of her body. "Want some?" He asked. He began to pour some on her face, not necessarily on her mouth. The whiskey was entering through her nostrils. She tried to move her face sideways, but Marcus pinned her face in place. Lionel helped push her shoulders down to stop her from moving. Her mouth was forced open and then Marcus began pouring again. "Drink!" Marcus commanded. She was half-gurgling and half-puking what looked like a mixture of whiskey and blood. Marcus hit her on her cheek bone and then commanded again, "Drink!". She tried swallowing the whiskey but she could only take in so much. Tears were falling from her eyes. Marcus stopped. "Oh, don't cry, sweetheart." He tried wiping her tears. And then hit her as hard in the eye. Both Lionel and Marcus laughed. _


	25. Chapter 25

Lana could hear people laughing. She opened her eyes but no one was there. She moved her head and there was Rachel.

She was sleeping on the couch near her bed, she could see flowers in the next room, and she could see Sarah sleeping there. The laughing must've come from outside the room.

She wanted to speak but there was an oxygen mask, so she tried to take it off. Rachel felt the rustling movement on Lana's bed and saw her moving her hand. She woke up and immediately ran to her side.

"No, no, honey." Her sistersaid as she stopped her from taking the mask off. She brushed her hair gently and said with a smile, "Hi..." Lana just looked at her. Her whole body felt so sore, her mind couldn't tell anymore which one hurt the most. She wanted to speak but she couldn't, Lana just felt weak.

The next few days were spent to make her stronger. Both her sisters would spend the whole day with her, they practically lived in the hospital already. Uncle James visited too, together with their aunts. Both her grandmothers have visited her as well, but no sign of their dad.

Rachel sensed the longing and it took a while but she finally convinced her dad to let go of their differences, put down his pride and visit his daughter who nearly died being attacked.

Everyone was in her room one afternoon, she was feeling a bit stronger this time, and was pain-free thanks to her medication. It was amazing she wasn't high. She underwent another surgery the other day to insert plates and screws to make it easier for her ribs to heal.

"Remember when Rachel and I were fighting because of that baby sitter? We actually had a bet about you." Sarah was in the middle of her story. Rachel was laughing already, remembering all the petty things they fought about. Lana was trying hard not to laugh because there was still a bit of pain, and that would mean she'd be gasping for air.

"I had my sticker album as my wager!" Sarah continued. Lana glanced at the door and saw their dad. Sarah noticed the look in Lana's eyes, turned around and saw their dad. "Dad!" Sarah urged him to come in. He had a cake with him.

"I know... I know…you're not very fond of pink. But it was the only cake they had downstairs." He said with a smile. He didn't know how to go about it, so Sarah just took the cake from him and brought it to the other room where the pantry was. Rachel squeezed Lana's hand and moved to the other room with Sarah.

Lana was fighting hard to not let her tears fall, but when her dad saw the struggle, he went to her bedside and held her. She cried. She cried hard. And just like that, all their differences, everything that had transpired between them, was gone.

Later that afternoon, after the laughter had died down a bit, Will Gardner and Diane Lockhart showed up at the door for a meeting Mr. Delaney had set up. They were to discuss the case and ask Lana some questions. They were preparing her for her statement to the police, which they have miraculously delayed until now. They were showing Lana some sketches of known associates of Bishop, but none of them looked familiar to Lana.

"I don't think I can be of help. I can't remember all the details." Lana begged.

"What do you remember, then?" Diane asked.

Lana paused. She wasn't comfortable having to recall what happened. "Someone was following me on my way to my car. I can't even remember the face."

"I know this is hard, honey, but just try. Here, have a look at these photos again, you might recognize one of them." Her dad tried.

"Dad, please."

"I had my people look into you past cases. The name that keeps on popping up is Lemond Bishop. That must account for something." Her dad said.

"If I may, sir. Agent Delaney, if we can just make a connection between your attackers and his men, we can go on and win this. I assure you." Will told Lana.

"No. I can't remember their faces. And I'm not really keen on reliving the memories, Mr. Gardner."

"I know I'm asking a lot from you." Her dad tried again.

"Someone followed me to my car. What happened after, I don't know anymore. I can't."

"Wasn't there a footage?" Her dad asked the lawyers.

"There was, but the one who followed her had his back against the camera, while the other man who—came from behind Agent Delaney was wearing a mask." Will had to pause, he wasn't sure Lana remembered that part or was okay with being reminded of it.

Lana did remember. She breathed deeply and glanced up the door to avoid the gaze of everyone.

She didn't expect to see her there. She couldn't react, what with everybody in the room. She told her dad she was tired and maybe, they could do this some other time. It has been a long day for her. Sarah noticed the change in demeanor so she looked at the door to see who was there. It was Kalinda.

Lana wasn't sure what she felt when she saw Kalinda on the door. On the one hand, she was almost happy to see her. It's been over a year, after all. On the other, she wanted to get mad at her for leaving her the way she did. She wanted answers, but she wasn't sure she was ready to hear them.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a nurse came in for her medications.


	26. Chapter 26

Kalinda went to see an old friend of Nick's, his right hand man. She went to his towing station in town. She hasn't been in this place for almost a year now.

"Hey Henry!" Kalinda began with a sarcastic smile.

Henry was startled, he was sitting on his desk trying to take a nap. "Lee—Sorry, Kalinda. What a surprise."

Kalinda smiled. "Where's your boss?"

"Who, Nick? Oh, he went home."

"Home? He has a home here?" She continued to ask as she walked around his small dusty office.

"No, not here. You know, his home. Your home. Your Nana's sick, they asked for him, so he went."

Kalinda stopped walking and turned around. "Nana? What happened?"

"I don't know, really. Must be getting old, that hag."

Kalinda walked towards him slowly, reached for his hand, and bent his fingers. He had little time to react.

"You don't talk about my Nana like that, understood?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry!" Then she let him go.

And then his phone rings, he looks at Kalinda to ask if he could answer, she nods. "Yeah?" He answered. "Alright."

He stands and goes outside. Just in time, a towed van enters the compound. "A van this time? I swear, this new guy gets numerous cars! Earlier today, he got me five cars! Five!" He said turning to Kalinda. Kalinda just forced a smile.

He took out a cigarette from his shirt pocket and started to light it. "Want some?" He offered Kalinda.

Kalinda looked at him and then at the cigarette, "No, thanks." She said. Just then, she noticed the name, _Lacampana_. Same brand as the one found on the scene. Her mind started to race, but then these people are drug dealers, they have easy access to illegal goods.

Kalinda was looking around the compound, looking at cars that were brought in earlier. Nothing looked suspicious.

Henry accepted the delivery and signed some papers. He was about to open the back of the van when he hesitated. He turned to Kalinda and asked, "Are we done?"

Kalinda nods. He waits for her to walk away.

"What? It's not like I don't know what you really do." Kalinda told him.

"But still." Henry smiled at her.

She snarled and walked away. When he saw that she was about to board her car, he then opened the back of the van.

Kalinda was inside already and was about to drive away when she looked through her rearview mirror. She saw Henry carrying a sack of something. A part of her wanted to go back and beat Henry up to find out what's inside, but another part wanted to call _home._

After debating with her self, she finally pulled over and grabbed her phone. She dialed a number she hasn't tried calling ever since she became _Kalinda._ Three rings and a familiar voice answers. The face of the man who answered scared her, but the voice she heard, in this circumstance, made her remember all the good times they've had, the family she left.

"Yello?" Nick answered cheerfully. He tried again when nobody answered, "Yello?"

"Who is it, darling?" Kalinda heard an old woman's voice talking to Nick.

"Nobody, Nana." Kalinda heard Nick say as he hung up.

She sat in her car as she listened to a dial tone. She breathed deeply, placed her phone on the passenger seat and drove away.


	27. Chapter 27

Kalinda was about to knock on the door when she overheard Sarah talking to their eldest sister, Rachel, if Kalinda wasn't mistaken.

"I think she's scared."

"Of course, she is. Haven't you seen her?"

"Sorry.. I didn't mean it like that. She's... She was probably threatened."

"We don't know for sure, Sarah."

"Come on, dad can protect her! The FBI can protect her!"

"We don't know what she's been through. Let it go." Rachel told her off.

Sarah sighed and walked out of the room, in time to see Kalinda standing by the door.

"You heard that?"

Kalinda nodded.

"Why are you here? You want to see Lana?" Sarah was soft-spoken this time.

Kalinda wanted to say yes, but said otherwise. "No. I, uh, I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, okay. You want to get some coffee downstairs?"

As soon as they found a seat and settled down at the coffee shop, Kalinda wasn't too sure as to why she began talking. There was something about Sarah that made it easy for Kalinda to open up. She began telling Sarah about Nick being her husband, and how she thought he was the one behind the attack only to be proven otherwise, knowing now that he's out of the country. The first words out of Sarah's lips were, "You have a husband?" She tried to stop herself from laughing.

"What's funny?" Kalinda asked with a straight face.

"Nothing. Sorry…" Sarah was smiling.

"Anyway, had a husband. He's out of the country, visiting fam—family."

"Does Lana know you're married?" Sarah couldn't help but ask.

"No. And I don't have plans of telling her in the near future."

"Okay. If you're so convinced it's him, why not go to the cops?"

"I told you, he's out of the country."

"Right. I'm still betting on that other guy, the _Lemon_ guy. Anyway, the police can't go on with a statement that says Lana can't remember anything. So, that's that." She said as she ate a piece of her cake.

"Lemond. If that's the case, then we don't really have anything to investigate anymore. So... _that's that._"

Sarah looked up. "You know, I think you _want _to see Lana."

"What makes you say that?" Kalinda asked. "Just a hunch." Sarah smiled. "Come on, it's going to be alright. I'll take my sister out and then you can go in. Talk to her. I sensed something earlier when she saw you."

Kalinda didn't answer. What was she going to say to her? Will she even talk to her after what she did to her?

"Hey, It's going to be fine, Kalinda." Sarah reassured her as she squeezed her hand.

Being friendly with Sarah felt nice but Kalinda was feeling guilty after everything that had happened. She wasn't really sure as to why they're in such friendly terms, but connecting with someone felt good for a change.

"She's feeling a bit forgiving now." Sarah gave out a soft chuckle. "I mean, she and my dad made up earlier. And they haven't been speaking to each other for over 10 years. Can you believe that?"

"Why is that?" Kalinda became curious.

"Well, I'll leave the story-telling to Lana. Anyway, you haven't seen each other for over a year. And in my book, 10 years is greater than 1. You get what I mean." She winked at her.

"Okay," Sarah continued as she checked her watch. "I'll give you two hours? I need to leave by then, I have a scheduled massage. So..." Kalinda nodded.

She followed Sarah up to Lana's room. And as planned, Sarah asked Rachel to go down with her. A nurse was still inside, checking her vital signs. After the nurse left, Lana saw Kalinda by the doorway again. Kalinda couldn't tell if she was happy to see her or not.

She walked towards her bed and looked at Lana's face. There were bruises and cuts. A bit of her right jaw was still swollen. She hesitated at first, but gave in later on. She gently reached for Lana's hand and held it. Her wrist was bruised as well but her hand was warm. She held it and Lana let her.

A few minutes later, Lana had drifted to sleep. Kalinda stayed a bit, and left when Sarah texted her that they were on their way up.


	28. Chapter 28

_Lana just lay there, tried breathing deeply but couldn't. Breathing was becoming painful now. Her head was beginning to spin. She tried not to move, moving only made it worse._

_Lionel picked her up and sat her on the chair. Lana closed her eyes, everyone around her was spinning. It must have been the chuck-load of whiskey. Lionel was about to pick up the bottle when Marcus stopped him. "Enough of that. Give her something else. That's mine." He took the bottle from him and drank some himself, never mind that it was a bit bloody. Lionel went outside the room and only came back a few minutes later, which Lana was grateful for, at least she had a few minutes of quiet. This time, Lionel had a bottle of champagne._

_"Champagne? Are you serious, Lionel?" Marcus asked, bewildered._

_"There was nothin' else."_

_"Try the other room. There were boxes of vodka the other day."_

_He went out again and came back a little later, with a box of vodka._

_"Well, I didn't tell you to get a whole box!" Marcus was becoming annoyed. _

_"You didn't tell me to just get one either!"_

_"Right, right." He said as he stood corrected._

_Lionel opened the bottle of vodka and was about to pour some on Lana's mouth when Marcus stopped him again. "What now?" He asked._

_"Not there. Put her there." Pointing to the wooden table. Lionel carried her and laid her down on the table._

_"Now, go ahead." Marcus instructed him as he placed his weight on her thighs to keep her from moving while drinking his whiskey. _

_Lionel pinned her to the table by placing his heavy forearm over her chest while trying to hold open Lana's mouth. And then poured some alcohol into her system. Lionel was smiling the whole time, obviously enjoying._

_"Drink up, little miss." He said chuckling._

_Lana tried to close her mouth but Lionel was stronger. She tried to wriggle her way out but her body felt heavy and weak. Whenever she'd try to not swallow the vodka, Lionel would punch her in the eye and sometimes on the nose. _

_Again, she half-gurgled and half-swallowed. Halfway through the bottle, she felt like she wanted to puke her insides. Lionel stopped and walked away. Marcus walked away. Lana wanted to sit up to puke but the spinning was worse. Lionel suddenly appeared, bat in hand. _

_He held the bat, the same way someone would hold it when pounding something into pieces. In this case, he was going to pound Lana. He pounded the bat straight into Lana's stomach hard, she vomited the alcohol inside her. He pounded her again, and again, and again. In between vomits, she begged Lionel to stop. Lionel just laughed. Marcus took the bat from him, gathering all his energy, he hit Lana hard on the chest. He hit her so hard, the table broke and Lana fell with it. She grimaced in pain._

_They just left her lying there as they drank some whiskey. The fatigue was too much, the pain was too much, she passed out._


	29. Chapter 29

Three days later, they have finally scheduled a meeting with the police to make a statement. Will and Diane were present, so were her sisters and Uncle James. Detective Burton and another police officer was there to ask questions.

After making the statement which was primarily about a man following her from the FBI building, Detective Burton asked her suddenly, "How are you related to Kalinda Sharma?"

Lana's eyes gave a perplexed look. Sarah shifted in her seat when she heard the name.

Diane, noticing the uneasiness in Lana's eyes, turned to Detective Burton and asked, "What is this about, Detective?"

"We have to know why Ms. Sharma was notified of Agent Delaney's whereabouts after the incident." He answered.

Lana's eyes were confused.

Detective Burton notices this then goes on to tell her, "Sorry, weren't you informed? Ms. Sharma was the one who called 911 and practically brought you to the hospital."

"A thank you should be in order then." Uncle James blurted out. Rachel smiled at the thought.

"I'll have to ask again. How are you—?" Detective Burton continued.

"They worked together in the past." Diane answered for Lana. She then goes on to explain the case they first worked together on.

Lana was left to think after everyone had left. Kalinda was _notified? _Why? She wanted to see Kalinda. She wanted to know why. And as if her wish was answered, that night, Kalinda showed up again in her room.

Lana just looked at her as she stood by the door. Kalinda sensed the struggle inside Lana's mind. Something was going on inside it and she wanted to know what it was, but she didn't have the courage to ask.

Kalinda sat on her bedside this time and held her hand again. Lana let her as she closed her eyes.

They stayed like that for a long time when Lana suddenly felt warm breath on her cheek. She was startled, she opened her eyes and saw Kalinda's face near hers.

"Stop." Lana whispered.

Kalinda stopped. "I shouldn't have. I'm sorry." She was about to let go of her hand when they were held back. Lana really did want her there. She stayed until she fell asleep.

That same night, Lana was woken up by a sudden movement. There was a guy wearing a scrub suit beside her. She calmed down at first, thinking it was just another nurse checking up on her, but the face registered in her memory. She recognized it even in low light. He looked at her and smiled. She wanted to scream for help but she couldn't. He moved nearer to her face. "Shhh... I'm just making sure you're not telling anyone else about us. Because you know, I can do what I did to you, again and again and again and again." He grinned. He began injecting something through the IV and that was all she remembered.

"Lana!" She could hear Rachel from a distance. "Honey, wake up."

She opens her eyes and sees Rachel and Sarah beside her.

"You were dreaming. Are you alright?"

"Yeah." She only managed a whisper.


	30. Chapter 30

_"Excuse me, miss?" Somebody was trying to wake up her up. It was a man's voice. He gently tapped her shoulder. Lana opened her eyes. Everything was still spinning. She tried closing her eyes again. _

_"Miss?" The man asked. It was a familiar voice._

_She opened her eyes again and tried to focus on his face. He was kneeling beside her. She was still lying on the floor._

_She tried hard to remember where he'd seen him before. She tried to speak but she couldn't. She felt so weak._

_"I called the paramedics. They'll be here in a few. Now, just lie down there. I'll try to look for something to free you from the cuffs." He said nicely._

_Thank god, she thought._

_When all of a sudden, she was hit hard on the face by the same knuckle brass that hit her earlier. Her wound on her brow had stopped bleeding, but she could feel the blood flowing now. The new guy laughed._

_Marcus and Lionel laughed in the background. They were still there. _

_Lana was still lying on the floor, hands cuffed behind her, eyes closed, the pain in her head was pulsating._

_The new guy kicked her on her left side, hitting the ribs. The dormant pain started hurting again. She curled to her side as he continued to kick her. _

_"Are you wondering why this is happening to you, Agent Delaney?" He asked as he bent forward._

_She sure as hell was, but she didn't want to care right now. She just wanted it to stop. _

_He knelt beside her, bottle in hand, and forced her mouth open. "Let's drink." He said with a smirk. He placed the bottle opening inside her mouth. Lionel immediately held her feet to stop her from moving. Her voice was muffled, but she was trying to stop him from pouring anymore alcohol. The new guy just smiled. Lana closed her eyes as he started pouring._

_Marcus suddenly pushed her stomach using the bat, she ended up puking out what she had drank. The pouring and the puking made her choke. Marcus laughed._

_The new guy dragged her to the wall and sat her up there. He knelt beside her and punched her in the stomach. It wasn't as hard as the first ones, but she has received so much beating, her whole body just felt sore. The pain brought tears to her eyes. And then he punched some more, and some more, and some more, and some more. She wasn't fighting back. She wanted to speak but no words came out. She lunged forward, trying to protect herself, only to be punched in the head instead. He wasn't done hitting her, he hit her hard on the forehead, many times, his fists were all bloody._

_"Do you know who I am Agent Delaney?" He asked as he pulled her head up. Lana's eyes were closed, face all bloodied. He slapped her hard, "Hey, wake up!" She opened her eyes, tried breathing through her mouth, her nose was too much filled with blood. _

_He hit her again in the stomach, in the ribs, anywhere he liked. He wanted to make her feel pain. She whispered as her head dropped, "Please stop." He just smiled. This time, he hit her hard on her throat. She had to gasp for air."You know what?" He said as he held her chin up. "I won't." And with that he hit her hard again on the stomach._

_She could hear a soft splash of water. The new guy picked her up and made her kneel in front of what looked like a big pail. She didn't see that there earlier. A few seconds later and her head was submerged in the pail of ice-cold water. She had little time to react, she breathed in water as this happened. He pulled her head up, and asked, "You like that, huh?". And then he submerged her again. His weight was on her back, she couldn't fight back. The water inside the pail was beginning to change color, the water tasted different too. Must be all the blood coming from her face, she briefly thought. She gasped for air as her head was pulled up. The cold water was making her numb. "I can't take th—" She was cut mid sentence when her face was submerged again. And then he let her go. She immediately puller her face up, gasping for air. _

_Lionel pulled her up when he was instructed to do so. Lana had to lean on the wall to support herself. That's when the third guy, who seemed he had a bone to pick with her, grabbed her shirt collar and threw her on the floor hard. They weren't done. They kicked her, and kicked her, and kicked her, and kicked her, until she reached the other side of the room, grabbed her shirt collar again and threw her to the wall. Lana fell to the ground and didn't move. Marcus warned his two other companions that they might just kill her. That wasn't how they planned it._

_Lana was still on the floor, lying on everything she had puked out. Bat in hand, the third guy looked down on her, made a swing and hit her right shoulder so hard, Lionel swore, he heard a bone break. It was one of the most painful things she's ever experienced in her life. And then he hit her again, and again, and again, and some more. She wanted to pass out, the pain was unbearable, but she couldn't. _

_Her ribcage was hit next, left and right. It was as though he was hell bent on breaking all her bones. He hit her hard, again, and again, and again, and again. He wasn't stopping. She was shouting, begging him to stop, but he just wouldn't. She tried to move but Marcus and Lionel held her down. And sometimes, whenever he paused, they'd hit her too._

_For the first time in her life, she wanted to die._

_She wasn't shouting anymore, the only sounds coming out of her mouth were soft groans. She felt too weak to even make a sound._

_Finally, she had passed out._


	31. Chapter 31

Kalinda knew about the dreams and the night terrors, how Lana would suddenly wake up in the middle of night, all shaken up and scared. "I'm quite sure she remembers everything that had happened." Sarah told her once. She may be right, but it was Lana's decision at the end of the day.

Her visiting Lana has been going on for three straight nights. Just the other night, she felt Lana wanted to talk to her about something but hesitated. Sarah told her about Lana knowing she was the one who called 911. It must have been about that. If it was, then she's in a bind. Lana was sure to ask why the attackers notified Kalinda of her whereabouts. She could simply say that it was probably because she was with her sister that night, but that could open another box of problems, not to mention the promise she made to Sarah never to tell Lana what had transpired between them. Or she could simply tell the truth, tell her that she didn't really know. If she did, she was sure Lana would try to dig into her past, and that could open a whole new world of problems.

Lana didn't hesitate to ask the next night. "Where were you when you were contacted?"

Kalinda was shocked at first that she was talking to her. She half expected to talk about what happened between them a year ago, not this. So she goes on to explain where she was and how she was contacted and how she had found her in her car.

"Why you?" She continued to ask.

"I honestly don't know. But Will & Diane were quick to point out something we had in common." Kalinda answered.

"Lemond Bishop." Lana said. Kalinda nodded in agreement. "Your dad may be right, you know?" Kalinda told her.

Now, Lana was starting to believe this too, but she didn't want them to see that. _She didn't remember anything_, and she wanted it to stay that way.

"Who were you with?" Lana asked again after sorting out her thoughts.

Kalinda didn't answer. She remembered her deal with Sarah, they were not to tell her anything.

Lana noticed the hesitation. "Out on a date?"

Kalinda couldn't help but smile. The past few days have been good to Lana, slowly regaining her strength. And her swag.

"Sort of." Kalinda answered.

Her eyes said it all. She was getting jealous, and Kalinda feasted on the thought.

"Are you jealous, Lana?" Kalinda asked, smiling from ear to ear.

"Have you tried investigating the number?" Lana asked as she disregarded Kalinda's question.

"Yes, I did. I'm an investigator, remember?"

"Did you find out anything?"

"No, it must have been a burner phone."

"So, no leads?" Lana was making sure.

Kalinda was noticing Lana's way of questioning and realized something. "You remember, don't you? You remember everything. You remember the people who have done this to you." She placed her hand on Lana's wrists.

"I don't."

"Are you sure? 'Cause you're really sounding like—"

"I said, I don't Kalinda." Her voice was commanding. She was back, alright.

"Who's the lucky girl?" Lana continued to ask with a hint of sarcasm, "Do I know her?". Her eyes were hinting on something.

Oh, you do. Kalinda thought to herself. She tried to think of an alibi to tell her.

"Why do you care so much?" Kalinda tried to turn the tables instead.

"I don't."

"Really? It doesn't look like it."

Lana just stared at her. There was something with the way she looked at Kalinda and the way she asked the questions. It was as if she knew the truth, that she was with Sarah that night.


	32. Chapter 32

_She woke up to the sound of a moving van. She was inside it, with her hands still cuffed, and the third guy was beside her holding what looked like her knife. She couldn't feel her body anymore, she felt numb. There was pain, she knew, but it was too painful, there was nothing left to feel. _

_The van stopped. _

_"You know—" he began as he slowly moved the knife to her throat. He let it slide down her neckline and down the first button of her shirt. Moved to the next, and the next, and the next. When the knife touched her stomach, she felt a sharp pain. Her abdomen had received so much beating, the slightest touch gave the gravest pain._

_"—the body has a lot of major arteries, I understand. But I'm just not quite sure—" He continued to slide down the knife to the middle of her stomach. "—as to where they are." He then moved the knife to her inner thigh, and without any warning or hesitation, he pushed it, through her pants, through her skin. He immediately covered her mouth with his left hand. "Shhhh—", he said as he smiled. He smiled at the sight of her stunned eyes, eyes that showed pain. And then he pushed deeper. Lana let out a faint moan. Tears rolled down her cheeks. He enjoyed it. He pulled out the knife and cleaned it with a piece of cloth._

_Lana could feel blood gushing out of her leg. There was pain there. Her breathing was heavy, and there was a faint wheezing sound. She didn't know what that was._

_"How long before she bleeds to death?" She heard him ask his companions. She didn't hear the answer. _

_He came back to her side, helped her sit up and leaned her on the van's wall. She was fighting for air. "One last thing, Agent Delaney. If I find out that you're sharing any information regarding us three to anyone, I'd be more than glad to do this over again and again and again." Without hesitation or warning, he pushed the knife again into her stomach this time, pushed it deep, pushed some more, smiled, then pulled it out. _

_"My name is Nick, in case you wanted to know." He said and gave her a smile._

_Lana passed out a few minutes later._


	33. Chapter 33

This was a familiar act. Kalinda was at the steps of the FBI building, waiting for Lana to come out. It's been three months since the horrifying incident. It's been two months since Lana got out of the hospital and it's been two months since they last spoke. _That ended well._

Kalinda's actions were almost bordering on stalkerish tendencies, much like Lana's a few years ago. Lana was obviously avoiding her, doing everything in her power to shun Kalinda out, to not let her know where she was, but Kalinda was good at her job. She had found Lana every time.

In fact, it was only yesterday when she last saw her; she was sure Lana saw her from a distance, but acted like she didn't. She wasn't only avoiding her, she was acting as though she didn't know Kalinda.

Now, Kalinda liked a good challenge, and she enjoyed it even more if it came from Lana. This time, she was going to make sure she was going to be noticed. A few more minutes and she sees Lana walking out of the FBI building. True enough, Lana saw her and tried to avoid eye contact, but Kalinda was adamant. She walked towards her direction.

"Hey, Lana!" Kalinda was smiling at her. Lana, on the other hand, wasn't even looking at her.

"I haven't seen you for some time. I've missed you!" Kalinda was trying to force herself, but Lana was still not answering.

"Have you missed me?" Kalinda asked playfully, softly bumping Lana's right arm in the process.

"Ow!" Lana shot her a look.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot about your—, I'm sorry..." Kalinda was apologetic.

Lana moved away from her, clutching her right arm. "What do you want, Kalinda?" She asked with so much annoyance.

Kalinda gave her an apologetic smile.

"Information? You want information? I don't have any. As you can see, I'm not fit to work."

"Lana, I never said I was—"

Lana cut her mid-sentence, "Isn't that the only thing you're after? Information?"

Kalinda just looked at her. Boy, if eyes could kill, Lana's forceful gaze would have done it.

A car pulled up in front of them and Lana got in. Kalinda just watched as their car drove away. She had so much work to do. She smiled at the thought of trying again tomorrow as she walked towards her car.

It was the middle of the night when Lana's phone began to ring. It was an unknown number.

"Hello?" She answered sleepily.

"It hurts me that you've erased my number." It was Kalinda.

"You can't avoid me forever, you know." Kalinda continued when Lana didn't answer.

Lana wanted to answer. She wanted to say she could and then hang up on her, but she didn't.

"If you really didn't want to speak to me, you would've hung up a while ago. And yet here we are. You're not talking to me but I'm pretty sure you can hear me."

Kalinda was right, Lana thought to herself.

"I'm not hanging up." Kalinda told her.

Lana sat up in bed and turned her bedside lamp on. She wasn't hanging up either.

"So, I was investigating this CEO..." Kalinda began talking about her day, trying hard to engage in a conversation but Lana wasn't budging. That was it. This was a different Kalinda, different from what Lana was used to. Kalinda was trying this time.

Kalinda was again waiting for Lana, this time she stayed at the side entrance of the FBI building. Lana slipped out on her once, she wasn't going to let that happen again. She waited a few minutes and Lana came out. She didn't look too happy to see her at this entrance.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're avoiding me." Kalinda followed her as she walked on the street.

She answered without looking at Kalinda, "I am."

"Why is that?" Kalinda asked.

"Should there be a reason, Kalinda?"

"Wait up." Kalinda grabbed the left arm this time. Lana stop and turned around, "What? What do you want?"

"You." Kalinda answered softly. She wasn't sure she was heard, but the way Lana stared at her afterwards showed she did.

"You left me hanging, Kalinda."

"I know, I'm sorry..."

"Do you know how painful that was for me? Do you know how stupid I felt?"

"I'm sorry, Lana." It was all Kalinda could say.

"So why THIS now, huh? Because it didn't work out between you and my sister?"

Kalinda didn't expect to have this confrontation out on the street, but hey, she asked for it. "So that's what this is about?"

"What do you mean that's what this is about? It's not just that Kalinda. It's about me always getting the shorter end of the stick, about me always being the one left hanging."

"Look, Lana. I had my reasons then."

"What were they?" Lana was challenging her to be honest, for once.

Kalinda didn't know what to say.

Lana expected that. She turned around and walked away.

Kalinda tried following her again, "I want you back, Lana!" Her voice was a bit louder this time, some passersby turned to look at them. Lana wasn't too happy with that, what with them so near the FBI vicinity. She stopped on her tracks and faced Kalinda. Thoughts ran through Lana's head. _Kalinda had moved on while I was stuck. She could've dated half of Chicago for all I know._

Then Kalinda spoke softly. "If I have to chase you for 2 or 3 years, I don't care. I will."

Lana wanted to get angry and stay angry at this woman in front of her, but there was something about Kalinda being soft and persistent at the same time. There was something about Kalinda that has gotten a hold of her whole world, from the very first time they've met. She would've given in if they weren't so out in the public and so very near the FBI building. She would've given the woman in front of her a deep and passionate kiss, to let her know that it's okay. But she did not. She gathered her bearings, and quietly said, "I have to go." She turned her back and walked away.

Kalinda watched her as she did.

Kalinda wasn't done. She walked up to Lana's apartment, which wasn't that hard to find. She knocked softly, hoping Lana was home. She was. Lana just looked at her with perplexed eyes. "What are you doing here? How did you even find me?", she asked. It was a valid question. Ever since moving to her new apartment, not once did Kalinda try to locate her.

"I'm an investigator, remember?" Kalinda answered.

Lana tried to close the door on her but Kalinda was just as strong.

Kalinda offered the paper bag again, "It's dinner.", she said.

"I can prepare my own food."

"Come on. Just take it, Lana. I don't even have to come in."

Lana took the bag and closed the door on Kalinda's face.

Kalinda stayed at Lana's door, and began talking, hoping against hope that Lana was still listening. "I know I have a lot to explain. I promise, I will when I'm ready. But please believe me when I tell you that if I could change what I did, I would."


	34. Chapter 34

Lana was getting used to seeing Kalinda now. As she stepped out of the FBI building, it didn't matter which door she exited, Kalinda was always there. True enough, Kalinda was standing again at the steps of the building. Honestly, Lana's heart skipped a beat. It must have been the therapy, but the past few weeks have been good to her, slowly moving on from her horrendous ordeal. And there was just something about seeing Kalinda's face that afternoon that made her smile. When Kalinda saw this, she began to smile as well.

"Hey, beautiful." Kalinda began.

Lana smiled at her this time.

"You're smiling. That must be good, right?"

Lana wasn't answering, but you could tell she can't hide the smile from her face.

"I've always liked it when you wore a big coat." Kalinda tried to flirt.

Lana gave in finally and asked, "Why?"

"Because it makes me think of what's underneath." Kalinda tugged on her belt as she finished her sentence. Lana had to gather her bearings. Kalinda's hand, even just on her coat, made her flustered. Noticing Lana's face, Kalinda tried to stop herself from smiling.

It has been a long day for Kalinda and even a longer one the next. Plans of pursuing Lana was already in play. She felt giddy at the thought while eating sushi on her kitchen counter at 10 in the evening. There was a sudden knock at her door. She wasn't too sure who'd be paying her a visit at this time of night.

Lana was standing in front of her when she opened it. She was wearing a coat and a dress underneath. Her mind _wandered_ a bit, but stopped herself in time.

"Lana. This is a—"

Lana entered her apartment without letting her finish and without so much of a permission. "It's so cold and you're wearing only that?" Kalinda was wearing a black tank top and pants. Her hair was down.

"It's not that cold inside. I'm having some sushi, want some?" She gave Lana her sweetest smile.

"No, thanks." She was still inspecting Kalinda's home.

"So, what brings you here?"

"No reason."

"Would you like to take your coat off? It's warm inside anyway." Kalinda offered.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Lana turned around to face her. Again, with the forceful gaze.

"I didn't mean anything by it." Her face was apologetic.

She inspected Kalinda's home some more. Kalinda, on the other hand, went back to her food. She stopped talking to Lana, she stopped recognizing her presence altogether. She heard the unbuckling of Lana's coat, she heard as Lana placed it on the couch. Kalinda was tempted to look back, but refrained herself from doing so. She wanted Lana to come to her this time, and that she did. Lana walked to the other side of the kitchen counter, facing Kalinda. Kalinda looked up. Lana was wearing a black dress.

"Fancy dress. What's the occasion?" Kalinda couldn't help but ask.

"My sister was invited for dinner by the hospital administrator at Loyola. She brought me and Sarah along." Kalinda noticed the hesitation upon mentioning Sarah's name.

"Oh. Where are they now?"

"They went home."

"Do they even know you're here?"

"Yeah. They dropped me off."

"And how are you going to get home later on?" Kalinda just had to ask. She actually wanted to ask if she planned on going home that night, but thought better of it.

"I'll figure that out later."

Kalinda stood up, walked towards the sink, and asked, "What do you want, Lana?"

Thoughts ran through Lana's head. She wasn't even sure what she was doing at Kalinda's. Memories of the other day, how Kalinda had told her the very things she wanted to hear. She couldn't move from where she stood. She didn't know what to say.

"Hey, what do you want?" Kalinda had to ask again. "I have beer, soda, wine. Oh, I have these fancy apple cider drinks."

Lana had to smile, she breathed easily. Kalinda was simply asking about which drink she preferred. She turned around and she was face to face with Kalinda, who was holding the only bottle of wine she had. Lana's mind couldn't focus, seeing Kalinda with her hair down.

They just gazed at each other's eyes. Kalinda was melting by the minute, she couldn't help it. She placed the bottle on the counter, reached for Lana's face and began to kiss her. Lana didn't fight it. It was gentle and slow, then building up to become torrid and lustful. Kalinda wanted her right there in the kitchen, and Lana's reaction showed the same.

They had to separate for a few seconds to catch their breaths. Kalinda touched Lana's lips with her fingers, right where there was a tiny scar. You'd miss it if you didn't take a closer look. Lana just watched her. Kalinda kissed the scar gently, then slowly moved to her ears and neck.

How they ended up on the couch was unknown. They were both intoxicated with each other's warm skin. "I want you," Kalinda had whispered on Lana's ear as they began to do things they've wanted to do to each other ever since.

It was another beginning for the both of them. They wanted it to work this time. There were still some unknown truths, but both didn't mind. Lana could see, Kalinda was making an effort. That was enough for her.


	35. Chapter 35

Kalinda was waiting for Lana in a coffee shop for lunch one time. She noticed this man seated across her that kept looking at her while smoking a cigarette. Sometimes, she'd catch him smiling at her. Kalinda knew she'd seen the face before, she just couldn't remember where.

"Hey." Lana sat in front of Kalinda, who was too busy trying to remember where she's seen the man before she didn't recognize Lana walking in.

"You're thinking deep." Lana told her.

Kalinda forced a smile. "So, how was work?" Lana had just been reinstated after months of recuperating and therapy.

"It was good. My office was just how I left it."

This part of their relationship was new to Kalinda. She didn't mind though, it was part of the compromise. Lana didn't force her to talk about things she wasn't ready to discuss, i.e. her past. In return, Lana wanted to have more than just the sex, i.e. eat lunch together (as long as it's not anywhere near the FBI building). It was working. Slowly and surely.

"How about you?" Lana asked her.

"Can't complain. Thanks for asking." It was all she could answer. What can she do, it was new to her. Lana gave her a quizzical look, then smiled. "I'm getting a sandwich, you want any?"

"I'm having what you're having."

Lana was already walking back to the table when she bumped into the man who kept looking at Kalinda. He's been smoking since he arrived, right before Kalinda did, so it was only natural for him to smell of cigarettes.

"Oh, I'm sorry miss." He said and gave her a smile. Lana looked up to say she was sorry too when she noticed the teeth. It was yellow. There was a lone silver tooth. She looked at the face, and then it hit her. She knew the man. Thoughts of that night began racing through her mind. Her heart started pounding, her knees started giving in but she regained her control. She immediately walked to where Kalinda was and sat down.

"Are you okay? You look flustered." Kalinda held her hand as she asked, they were clammy.

"Yeah. I'm just hungry, I guess." She lied.

"Maybe we should try eating inside for a change. Your hands are cold."

Lana tried closing her eyes, but she could smell him. He was right behind her, smoking what could be his tenth cigarette for the past half hour. Kalinda noticed the sudden change in Lana, she didn't know as to why. She didn't force it either.

"Yeah, maybe we should."

They moved inside and had their lunch there. Lana looked different afterwards, she barely touched her food and kept glancing outside. She readily walked out after Kalinda finished her food.

"Come on, I'll drive you to your building." Kalinda offered. They walked towards her parked car just around the block.

Car in sight, Kalinda began walking faster after seeing a tow truck nearby. It turns out, the guy was towing another vehicle. Kalinda saw the marking on the side of the tow truck, it was Nick's.

Lana was busy taking the smell of cigarettes out of her memory, when she noticed someone staring at her from a far. It was the guy from the tow truck. The guy couldn't help but smile as he boarded his truck and drove away. It was Lionel.

The drive to the FBI building was quiet. There was something about the sudden change in Lana and Kalinda didn't know if she had to ask what it was about. She opted not to.

"I'll see you later?" Kalinda asked Lana as she got out of the car.

Lana nodded and smiled.

As with every other date they had, it had ended up in bed. It was heated and passionate. Kalinda's fingers were circling Lana's shoulder, trying if a second time was possible, but Lana felt different tonight. Something has been bothering her. It began during lunch but she couldn't tell what it was. Kalinda wanted to ask, but Lana beat her to it.

"I was in a van." Lana whispered as she began feeling the scar on her stomach.

Kalinda didn't know what she was talking about at first, but realized when she continued, "He stabbed me inside the van. Twice."

Kalinda didn't know what to say. She held Lana's shoulder to console her. They never talked about the attack. Lana never opened up about it and Kalinda just didn't have the courage to ask. And to be honest, she just really wanted to move on from it. Kalinda could not fathom what Lana had gone through, let alone what she feels reliving the memory.

"His name was Nick." Lana continued.

Kalinda froze. Thoughts began racing through her mind. _The man at the coffee shop. The man at the bar that night. They were one and the same. It was a van. The van she saw at the towing compound. Nick. His name was Nick._

She waited for Lana to fall asleep before slipping out. She wanted to be alone. For the first time in months, she didn't stay the night.


	36. Chapter 36

Kalinda headed to Nick's towing compound at the soonest possible time. She looked around and found the van that was brought in the last time she visited. It was in a far corner of the compound, surrounded by used engines. She opened the back, it was clean and empty.

She went inside the office, hoping to find Henry. There was a half eaten apple on the table, but no Henry.

A rustling sound coming from the back office startled her, the voice that spoke startled her more. "Henry, I can't find my fuckin' phone." It was Nick. He stopped upon seeing Kalinda and smiled at her.

"Well, well... Look who's decided to visit."

Kalinda was trying to conceal her fear. "It was you." She told him in the most convincing voice she could.

"It was me what?" Nick was confused.

"You know what I'm talking about." Kalinda's fear was turning into anger. Thoughts of what he did to Lana did the trick.

Nick just smiled at her. "So what if I am? Sue me. Oh wait, you can't. Your girlfriend is too scared, isn't she?"

Nick was right. What was she thinking showing up here in his territory without so much of a plan.

"Oh, and if she does, I think it would be good to know that one of the guy's responsible for what happened to her—", Nick had to smile at the thought before continuing. "—was your dad."

Kalinda didn't answer. Her eyes showed disbelief.

"That's right, your dad, Marcus. I'm not stupid, Kalinda. Talk and your dad goes to jail. Talk and I talk. I come forward with your story. I don't think your girlfriend will be too happy after she finds out I _am_ your husband."

Nick's hold on Kalinda was creeping back. "Oh, joy. They find out about everything you've done in the past, the company you've kept. Talk and _you _go to jail. Oh wait, there's more. The people you've crossed, I think, they'll be happy to find out that you're alive and well. And when we're all in jail, Nana will just take good care of herself. Ain't that right?"

He wasn't finished. "The life that you have here, everyone you've grown to love and care for, will be gone in the blink of an eye."

Kalinda didn't notice that she has slowly walked back to the door as Nick made advances towards her direction.

"And what makes you think it ends there? I can do what I did to your girlfriend, again and again and again, whether I'm inside or outside. The beauty of it, is that it all happened because of _you._"

"Why'd you let me know? That night, why'd you have me contacted? Why'd you leave her outside of the building I was in?" Kalinda had to know.

"Sweetheart," Nick began cheerfully. "I wanted her life to be in your hands. Honestly, I got sad when I found out you went out and checked. If you didn't, I bet you would not have been able to live with yourself."

The door behind her suddenly opened, Kalinda was startled, only to find out it was Henry.

"Oh, hi Kalinda. Didn't know you were here." He smiled at her and then sat on the chair to make some calls.

Nick wasn't smiling anymore. Kalinda headed out and walked as fast as she could towards her car. She left without another word.

It took her a day to remove the memory of meeting with Nick. It was only natural for Lana to not be too happy upon seeing her again. "Where have you been? You slipped out the other night. You were missing yesterday. I'm beginning to think we're back to square one again."

"I'm sorry. It was work. I didn't mean anything by it. I should've called. I'm sorry," Kalinda was truly apologetic.

"Alright. I just want to know we're on the same page here."

Kalinda smiled at her. "We are."

At the back of Kalinda's mind, she was afraid she might just break Lana's heart all over again.


	37. Chapter 37

Kalinda was at the bar one night, drinking alone and weighing her options in her mind. She could tell the truth and lose Lana in the process, not to mention hurt her all over again. She could lie, let things unfold themselves and eventually lose Lana. She was beginning to believe, she had no choice in this. She was staring at the wall across the bar, straight at the bottles lined up on the shelves, when a person sat beside her. It was Alicia.

Kalinda gave her a smile. It was nice to have a familiar face around.

"You're thinking deep." Alicia told her as she ordered a drink.

Kalinda forced another smile.

"You know, you guys beat us today in court." Alicia continued.

"We did." That Kalinda knew. She was partly responsible for uncovering the evidence that buried the defense, which was Alicia in this case.

"That sucks." Alicia said as she sipped from her glass.

"Not for us." Kalinda was quite proud of herself.

Alicia gave out a chuckle. "So Kalinda, your eyes are telling me there's something wrong. Care to share with an old friend?"

"Are you drunk, Alicia?" She just had to ask. Alicia was acting awkward.

"No, no. Just having a bad day. So, what's wrong?" Alicia tilted her head to face Kalinda.

Kalinda drowned a shot before speaking. "There's this girl—"

"Because you're flexible." Alicia had to point out even if this fact was told to her a few years back, if only to prove that she listens. Kalinda gave her a sheepish smile.

"Continue."

It must have been the alcohol kicking in, but there was something about Alicia's presence that just let Kalinda talk. "I really just want to be honest—". Alicia cut her again, "I always say honesty's the best policy, Kalinda. If you want to keep the girl, just tell the truth." She downed another shot after finishing her sentence.

"If I tell the truth, it'll push her away."

"O—kay, don't tell the truth then." Alicia said as if things were that simple.

"I have this feeling that she'd find out about it anyway."

"Then you are in a bind, my friend." Alicia asked the bartender to refill her glass, raised it and nudged Kalinda to do the same. Kalinda obliged.

"Here's to—" Alicia began as she closed her eyes, trying hard to think of words to say. When she opened it, she saw Agent Delaney at the far corner of the room."—Ah! Agent Delaney!"

Kalinda was startled. She was so engrossed in her thoughts, she almost forgot she was to meet her here for drinks. "Wait, is she the—?" Alicia asked. Kalinda nodded.

"Oh, well, good luck with that. Cheers!" Alicia drank her last shot then took a leave. Her empty seat was immediately filled in by Lana, her face showed all levels of annoyance with hints of jealousy. "What was that about?"

Kalinda had to hide her smile. "Nothing, we were just catching up."

"Do you need to do that here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you can catch up in court or I don't know."

Kalinda couldn't believe it. She was hers and yet, Lana was still jealous of everyone she interacted with. Not that she was complaining. It was actually fun seeing Lana all worked up because of jealousy. It could have been the alcohol or her subconscious trying to avoid a confrontation, but Kalinda immediately found herself in Lana's apartment, wrapped in a jealousy-driven sexual rage.

Hours afterwards, she was seated in bed, watching Lana sound asleep beside her. She continued to think about the consequences she might have to face because of her past. And did Nick just make another threat to Lana's life? Her thoughts were cut short when Lana moved. She saw a fully dressed Kalinda seated beside her.

"Hey, I didn't mean to wake you up." Kalinda told her.

"You didn't." Her eyes were still adjusting to the light from her bedside lamp.

"Listen—" Kalinda began. "I have to be at work early tomorrow. Would you mind if I snuck out now?". She was lying, she couldn't bear to be beside Lana while knowing the things she knew.

Lana sat up. She felt vulnerable, with her blanket the only thing covering her body, while the woman beside her was fully clothed and about to leave her in the middle of the night. But she didn't want to appear too helpless and too needy. "No, of course, I understand."

Kalinda's drive home was slow and quiet. If she could handle things on her own, she would, but judging from how things ended up the last time, wherein she almost got Lana killed, she wasn't too sure if she could again this time. Her problems won't go away until Nick goes away, but she doesn't kill people for a living so that was out of the question. She could just do nothing and wait until something actually comes up. Lana brought up the incident just once and never again anyway.

True enough, the incident wasn't brought up again until weeks later. Both Kalinda and Lana were out having dinner, again choosing a table out in the cold.

"We really should be eating inside, you know." Kalinda told her. "It's too cold out here."

"Don't worry. It'll be warm soon enough." Lana tried to give her a wink. Kalinda smiled back.

"I'll be at your office tomorrow."

"Really?" Kalinda asked. "Why?"

"I'll be speaking to Will and Diane."

"What about?"

Lana just looked at Kalinda. Speaking about the incident made her uncomfortable. In fact, the only person she freely discussed it with was her therapist. "I'm making a new statement regarding the incident."

"Oh. So you remember now?" Kalinda asked. She didn't mean to but she sounded sarcastic and irritated.

Lana, noticing the sudden change, looked at Kalinda. "What are you trying to imply?"

"You started off not remembering. Now you do. What happened?"

"Nothing. I just—nothing." Lana didn't want to talk about it and Kalinda respected that decision. Kalinda looked at the woman in front of her. Thoughts of how she could hurt Lana again re-entered her mind.


	38. Chapter 38

Kalinda was in a heated exchange of thrusting motions. She was in the hands of Lana, or should we say, the fingers of Lana were inside of her. A sudden movement and Kalinda regained control. She was on top and the woman pinned under her was craving for her body. She gave it to her. From Lana's lips, Kalinda moved to her neckline, to her breasts where she lingered a little, moved further down aiming for the area _in between_. Her own was throbbing in lust. However, her mind was sidetracked by a scar.

Lana, noticing the sudden stop, looked at Kalinda and tilted her head a bit to the left. Her mind was going, _why the fuck did you stop?!_ But there was something there, she knew. It was an accumulation of actions. First, Kalinda left her in the middle of the night, which she hasn't done ever since they started going out again. Second, there were the times when she'd notice Kalinda thinking deep about things, things that she wasn't willing to discuss with her.

"What's wrong?" She asked instead. Having to ask this question in bed didn't sit too well with her, remembering fully the last time she did and what happened afterwards.

Kalinda moved, used the blanket as cover for her body and sat up beside her. Lana was forced to do the same.

"My name isn't Kalinda." She began.

Lana tilted her head some more. _We're going to talk about this now? Really, right when we're in the middle of it? _But Kalinda was being intimate. Lana's mind couldn't settle on an understanding of what Kalinda was doing.

"It's Leela." She continued.

Lana held Kalinda's hand, as if to say that it's okay.

"I was—we were into horse racing, fixing horse races." All the while Lana was brushing her thumb on Kalinda's hand.

"The last race I was involved in was a big one. There was a bust and for some reason, my father decided to deal with drugs on that day. The race fixing wasn't uncovered, but the drug dealing was. Instead of him going to jail, my husband—" She paused to see how Lana would react. Lana stopped brushing her thumb against hers.

"My husband took the fall. He went to jail instead." Lana wasn't letting go of Kalinda's hand though. She studied Kalinda's face while letting _that _piece of information settle in. Honesty brought out something in Kalinda.

"When he did, I saw the chance, I left. I left with his money to help me start again. That's how I ended up here."

There was silence. Neither party not wanting to break it.

Lana, finally having the courage, moved in front of Kalinda, placed both hands on the shoulders of the woman in front of her. Her hands felt warm on Kalinda's.

Lana gave out a sigh and said, "I don't care, Kalinda. I don't care if you have a husband. I'm assuming that that's all done now."

"He's a very dangerous man, Lana." Kalinda answered softly.

"What do you mean? Has he spoken to you?"

"A year ago. He found me, he was talking about how he could rat me out to the police and that I'd go to jail for it." Lana held her hand again, trying to understand what Kalinda was trying to tell her.

"He knew about you. He threatened you, so I left. He said he'd leave you alone if I did."

Lana was slowly putting the pieces together. "My apartment, was that him?". Kalinda nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?" It was surprising Kalinda how Lana was keeping calm all this time.

"I couldn't."

"I could've protected you!" Lana, noticing her voice louder than usual, repeated it in a softer tone. "I could've protected you."

Silence ensued.

"That's why you left." Lana said.

Kalinda nodded in agreement. "I don't think he's done."

"What do you mean?" Lana asked.

Kalinda didn't know how to say it. Her face showed remorse and shame. She looked at Lana in the eyes and said in the softest voice she could, as if hoping Lana wouldn't have to hear, "Nick—my husband's name is Nick."

The pain in Lana's eyes, you couldn't paint. All she could do was move away from the woman in front of her. Both women felt vulnerable, with nothing to cover themselves but a sheet of cloth. Lana tried to cover herself with the blanket, she would've picked up her clothes and put them on had she known where they were.

Her mind was all over. Thoughts of what Kalinda had told her a few months back ran through her head. _If I could change what I did, I would._ Thoughts of _that night_ ran though her head. _I'd be more than glad to do it over again and again and again_, she heard Nick say. She could almost feel the cold knife piercing her skin. She was brought back to reality when she heard Kalinda speak.

"You have to stop." Kalinda's face showed so much emotion. "He's going to kill you, Lana." Lana's face was blank.

Kalinda moved to where she was, tried to hold her hands but failed. Kalinda sighed. "He knows. He knows you're going to talk to the police."

Lana looked at Kalinda. Everything that they've worked on the past few months were slowly going down the drain. _How the fuck did he know? She spoke to him? _The wall between them was growing bigger and bigger by the minute.

"I don't know how he knows. Believe me." Kalinda noticed Lana's accusing gaze.

"If he goes to jail, he can't touch me. He can't touch you." Lana finally said.

"You don't know him. He's a dangerous man."

"What's in it for you?" Again, Lana was talking with accusing eyes.

"I want you safe, Lana."

"What's in it for you?" Her voice was louder and more commanding this time.

Kalinda sighed deeply and said, "If you talk, everyone in my family will go to jail."

Lana's face was disgusted. "Lionel?"

Kalinda looked at her, she didn't know the man.

"Marcus?" Lana tried again.

Kalinda's eyes said it all.

"If you talk, everyone in my family will go to jail. Including me."

"So that's what this is about?"

"If I'm in jail, I can't protect you."

"You won't go to jail, Kalinda." Lana was getting annoyed.

Kalinda just stared at her. Lana didn't know the extent of Kalinda's actions, the powerful people she's crossed. "Stop it." Kalinda was almost begging this time, the same way she begged Lana for her life over a year ago.

"This isn't about you."

"It's not. It's about you. I want to protect you, Lana. I can't do that if they take me away."

"No. This isn't protecting me. This—this is saving yourself."

Kalinda kept quiet. She didn't know what to say. Lana was right, this was saving herself. Lana talking means she'll lose the new life she's created for herself and everyone in it, including Lana. On the one hand, Kalinda wanted to protect Lana. On the other, she wanted to keep the secret of Leela safe. Either way, she was going to lose Lana.

"Just stop, Lana. I don't want to lose you again." It wasn't like Kalinda to say these kinds of things. And it was ironic that the one person she hated being vulnerable to was the one person she always ended up being vulnerable for.


	39. Chapter 39

It's been three weeks since they last spoke. Kalinda had found out that Lana talked to the police already, Diane accidentally told her one afternoon. She saw Lana working with a sketch artist at the firm the next day, with lawyers present. That was probably it. She was expecting the worse to happen any time.

Nick had called her the other day. "Just so we're clear. If the police comes knocking at my door, you're going with me." He said. Kalinda didn't say anything, she didn't know what to say. "And, tell your pretty girlfriend I said hi." He continued with a smirk.

Kalinda wanted to answer back, but she was exhausted. She played her cards in every possible way. She tried to be honest for a change, but nothing worked. Nick kept on coming back and she kept on losing Lana. To make matters worse, her life was going to become a big lie and everyone will come after her. She hung up instead.

She felt betrayed, but her mind was telling her not to. She was, afterall, the reason for the horrible incident Lana got into. Lana had every right to go to the police. She hasn't seen Lana for weeks now, and she can't remember if she was being avoided or if she was the one doing the avoiding.

She kept reporting to work, kept doing the normal mundane things, hoping that it won't come to her being dragged away by the police. Two days went by and nothing. Three days and nothing. It's been more than a week since finding out that Lana had spoken to the police, and still nothing.

Kalinda was at the bar, in her usual spot, having her usual drink. Kalinda was surprised to find Alicia beside her.

"So, how'd it go?" Alicia asked as she ordered a drink.

"How'd what go?"

"Agent Delaney. You were having problems, right?"

Kalinda wasn't in the mood to talk and Alicia noticing the uninterested person beside her downed a shot instead. "If it helps, I think she's here to see you." Kalinda was too preoccupied with her thoughts she didn't hear what Alicia just said.

"Aaaand, she doesn't look too happy to see me. So..." Alicia said as she stood up, gave Kalinda a pat on the back and smiled. "I think everything's going to turn out okay." Kalinda gave her a smile, not realizing what Alicia was talking about. She ordered another drink from the bartender.

"Is this seat taken?" Kalinda heard a familiar voice. She looked at the person beside her, it was Lana. She was in her work clothes, that crisp white collared shirt which never failed to turn Kalinda on.

Lana ordered a drink, took a shot, then faced Kalinda. She tilted her head and gave her a smile. _That smile,_ Kalinda thought.

"You look like someone who's waiting for her doom." She couldn't help but laugh at what she just said.

"Maybe I am." Kalinda answered.

"You have your hair down." Lana continued as she eyed Kalinda seductively. "Changing personalities?" She asked half-jokingly.

"Maybe I am." Kalinda answered again. She didn't know what game Lana was playing.

"I saw you working with a sketch—" Kalinda had to ask.

"I did." Lana cut her short. She ordered another drink and took a shot.

"So the police knows about—"

"M-hmmm." She cut Kalinda short again. Lana was circling her fingers on the rim of her glass. Both kept silent.

Lana never really liked showing herself being unsure and being vulnerable. "Kalinda," She began. She was almost hesitant at first, ashamed that she even had to ask. "Are we still on the same page?"

Kalinda looked at her and walked out, Lana immediately followed. They reached a quiet corner outside, Kalinda stopped and turned around to face Lana.

"Are you here to arrest me?" Kalinda had to ask.

"What?" Lana was confused. "That's what this is about?" She crossed her arms.

Kalinda sighed. "Well, are you?"

"No. I'm not here to arrest you." Her voice showed a hint of irritation. "You've been avoiding me because of that?"

"I'm sorry, Lana. I'm not too sure where we stand right now. I'm a criminal and you're a Fed. How am I supposed to wrap my mind around that?"

"You're not a criminal!"

"My husband almost killed you."

"You're not responsible for him." Lana was getting worked up.

Kalinda moved a step closer, her face was right in front of Lana's. "If something happens to you, it's on me." She said softly this time, remembering what Nick had told him. _I wanted her life to be in your hands._

They both stared at each other's eyes. Lana's heart was pumping fast, Kalinda's eyes were all remorse. Kalinda could smell the alcohol from Lana's breath. It intoxicated her. In the blink of an eye, their lips were locked in. It was torrid and powerful. Lana wasn't gentle when she pushed Kalinda against the wall of a building. It could have been the alcohol acting, but Lana was being careless and Kalinda didn't mind. Hands were reaching into places that should only be allowed indoors.

And then Kalinda's phone rang. It was Nick.

"I have to go." Kalinda wasn't sure as to why Nick was calling her now. It was nerve-racking, having Lana in front of her and Nick breathing on her neck.

Lana was dumbfounded. She didn't exactly know now where they stood in their relationship.

Kalinda walked fast towards her car before picking her phone up but didn't answer.

"You know, I don't get it when you pick up your phone and don't say hello. I mean, what's the point? I know you're there, so might as well say hello. If you didn't want to talk to me, then don't answer the fuckin' phone."

"What do you want?" Kalinda asked.

"See, now you're speaking to me. You could've said hello the first time and saved us a minute or two from this conversation." Nick wasn't done.

"What do you want?" Kalinda was getting annoyed.

"My man, Lionel, is going to jail. Thanks to your girlfriend."

"So?"

"So... there was no description of me and your dad."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, your pretty girlfriend is a good girl after all." He snorts.

"Anyway," He continues. "It doesn't matter, your dad has gone back home. And I'm moving away in the meantime. Just to make sure."

"Okay." Kalinda didn't get as to why he was even calling her.

"Come on, Kalinda. Aren't you even going to miss me?"

"No." And she hung up.

Suddenly, the hurt Kalinda felt subsided. Things became a little bit clearer. She drove fast going to Lana's apartment, hoping she didn't hurt her by leaving her out on the street. She went up the stairs and knocked on Lana's apartment door. There was no answer.

"That door's not going to open on its own." Lana spoke as she walked into the hallway. Kalinda looked at her, thankful Lana showed up.

"What was that about?" Her face was annoyed. "You keep on leaving me."

Kalinda's face was apologetic.

"You lied to the police." Kalinda told her as Lana opened the door.

"That was him on the phone, your upstanding husband?" She asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"You lied to the police." Kalinda asked again as she followed Lana inside her apartment.

"I didn't lie. I simply left out some details." Lana was becoming defensive. She didn't like being interrogated of sorts.

Kalinda walked towards Lana and stepped into the space she was standing on. Her hands reached for Lana's shirt and slowly unbuttoned them. Kalinda was lingering in front of Lana's lips, waiting for her to make the next move. She did. In no time, they reached the bed, violently tearing off each other's clothes, and continuing what they started earlier tonight. It didn't take long before one of them gave in and was about to—but, Kalinda wanted to torment the woman in front of her some more. She stopped, pulled out her fingers and just stared at Lana. Her eyes were begging, begging to be taken right there and then.

Kalinda obliged, slowly reinserting and slowly thrusting, gradually increasing the pace until she could feel Lana tightening up. "Open your eyes." Kalinda commanded as she stopped moving her hands. Lana didn't understand.

"Open your eyes." Kalinda repeated. "I want you to look at me."

Lana hesitated, but Kalinda wasn't moving her hands anymore. She's been left hanging too many times tonight, she wanted it done.

Kalinda continued, going deeper each time. Lana was gasping for breath with each push. Kalinda was staring right through her eyes, as if searching for something. Another push and Lana had come undone, right in front of Kalinda. It was the most vulnerable Lana had felt in her life.

After calming down, Kalinda just stared at Lana's eyes.

"What?" Lana asked.

"Why'd you lie?" Kalinda needed to know.

"I said I didn't lie." Lana answered.

Kalinda sighed. "Why didn't you tell them about Nick?"

Lana studied the face of the woman on top of her. "Because," She paused. "Because I don't want to lose you too." She tried to look away as she finished her sentence, ashamed at the vulnerability she was showing. She sure has shown that too many times tonight.

A smile started to form in the corner of Kalinda's lips. It was yet another beginning for the both of them.


	40. Chapter 40

"Hello?" The man on the other line answered.

"Hey, it's me." Nick said.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me on this line?"

"Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Bishop." Nick said in the most sarcastic voice he could. "Don't worry, this is a burner phone. Anyway, Lionel took the fall for us. I'm leaving the city for a few months. Just to make sure."

"That was your mess, stating your names."

"I know, I know. Sorry about that. But don't worry, our mouths are zipped when it comes to your name."

"They should be. Or you'll end up just like her. And I won't be too nice in the end."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, got to go. If you need anything, Henry's there to take orders."

They both hung up.

THE END


End file.
